


Katawa Jikan, or The Infinite Loops of Yamaku

by Masterweaver



Series: The Infinite Loops [5]
Category: Katawa Shoujo
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi, infinite loops, time loops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2020-08-11 11:44:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 61,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20153047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masterweaver/pseuds/Masterweaver
Summary: Life goes on. Or does it?Hisao wakes up in the hospital with memories of five different girls and thirteen conflicting futures. As time repeats over and over, he resolves to try to figure out what's happening and do his best to help the people most important to him. Something that gets more complicated when the girls themselves start joining him, each with a memory of their own happy future.And then it turns out their world isn't the only one stuck in a time loop...Part of the Infinite Loops project.





	1. Life Expectations

**1.1 Masterweaver**

* * *

The Heart Beats Again

Hospital.

So, logically,  _ another _ heart attack.

Great.

Hisao let his head sink into the strangely familiar pillow, grumbling quietly. Well, at least he wasn't dead. And when he got out of the hospital, he could hang out with...

...with...

The memories were all... jumbled. Was he out long enough to have brain damage? No... no, they were clear memories, they were just contradictory. He remembered... five different girls, and he had fallen in love with each one, and... there was success, and there was also failure, and there was...

It was like he had lived multiple lives after arriving at Yamaku. Sometimes helping a girl, sometimes... hurting them, without meaning to. But that couldn't be right. Was he misremembering? No... maybe? He remembered Iwanako's letter, and reacted differently in each memory, which...

He forced himself to take a deep, calming breath. It wouldn't be... it could be risky, panicking now. Having his heart flutter, so soon after... whatever happened. All he had to do was look at the date and--

Hisao stared at the calendar on the wall.

Okay... so the hospital hadn't updated the calendar. That... wasn't a problem. All he needed to do was ask a nurse, yes, ask a nurse what the date was. How he got here. Yes...

It was strange. He could remember each life clearly. He could see them almost being... identical. Except for how he acted, which... which girl he helped the most. And... if any of his work had been undone, if it had all been undone--

which was, of course,  _ impossible _ , the calendar was  _ wrong _

\--then he had to, somehow, help them all. Which would be tricky...

Of course he wasn't doing it for the more, well, personal memories. Sure those were fun, but that wasn't the point. He had to...

...no... he  _ wanted _ to help them all. Because he cared about them all. It wasn't an obligation, they would be insulted by that.

Okay... keeping calm. Thinking things through. He hadn't gone back in time, that was impossible. There was the doctor coming now. With a clipboard. He opened the door and smiled. And he asked what the date was.

And Hisao, very calmly, reported the calendar seemed to be off.

And the doctor... said it wasn't.

And explained how he had been brought into the hospital after Iwanako had admitted her love, and... and how he had been diagnosed with arrhythmia.

Exactly as had happened on this day before.

It was very, very fortunate that he was already in the hospital. And that the doctors were expecting fear and denial to trigger another heart attack.

* * *

"A boy prone to heart attacks." Isis pinched her brow. "Before the refactoring, he wouldn't even have been considered..."

She tapped through the records on her tablet, quirking a brow. "A minor plurality in timescapes, centered around affection. This branch was probably one of the ones on the edges of the incident... minor damage overall, but enough to require loop treatment. And the best Anchor candidate was this boy. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak..."

Her eyes drifted to the screen, where Hisao was waking again. After a glance at the calendar, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, before grabbing a sketchpad and pencil.

"...then again, there are ways the spirit may strengthen the flesh." Isis nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm. Yes, best to get the affections activated as soon as possible, and arrange visitors as their first fused loop. I doubt a visit from a goddess would be well received in their current state."

With a flick of her fingers, she set up a to-do list and started running through contacts.  
  
  


New Loop: Katawa Shoujo

Anchor: Hisao Nakai

Admin: Isis

* * *

**1.2 Drebom**

* * *

The Artist’s Awakening

Rin was having a bad day.

A few days ago, she had had a very bad, normal day. She woke up, like normal. Emi had helped her get dressed, like normal. She had talked about Hisao to Emi, which should be normal, but Emi didn’t understand what a Hisao was. And then Emi had laughed and said Hisao was a dream.

That had hurt something in Rin. Her heart. Maybe it was like what Hisao felt when his heart didn’t work right. Probably not. In any case, Emi didn’t know Hisao. Hisao wasn’t there. Hisao had never been there, except in Rin’s head, like so many other things. And that hurt.

They had walked to class, passing the wall where her mural wasn’t. The days spent painting it were gone, long ago and never. The calendar on Rin’s wall agreed. It said it wasn’t the day she thought it should be. That by itself wasn’t unheard of, but it had never been so different before.

“I think I want to go back.”

“Back where?”

“To Hisao.”

Emi had laughed again, a bright ringing sound that went stabstabstab. “You can go back to sleep tonight, Rin. Who knows, maybe you really will see your dream boy again.”

“I hope so,” said Rin. Emi didn’t notice when her eyes went all blurry and the tears leaked out. Rin just wiped her face on her shoulder.

The days that followed were familiar, but Rin had dreamed about a lot of things. Maybe she had dreamt this before too. It didn’t mean it had happened.

Rin wanted to be by herself a lot after her dream, so every day she went to the art room after school for lunch. That Wednesday she had curry. It was the same as when she had dreamed about meeting Hisao. Her heart hurt again. It was doing that a lot recently.

Then the door opened, and Hisao came in. They stared at each other for a long moment, and Rin’s heart felt all warm and fluttery. It did that a lot around Hisao, and Rin had decided she liked the feeling. She was very glad she could feel it again. The bad day was suddenly a very, very good day.

Hisao was looking at her, and she was looking back. He seemed to be different, but still Hisao. He wasn’t as sad as he had been the last time they had first met. He had stared again, but it wasn’t in surprise. Probably. That was strange.

Rin wondered what she should do. She knew what she had said the last first time. She had asked about his problem. She didn’t need to now, she already knew. But if she did, would she be able to do it all again?

Rin remembered all the things she had said and done. Asking if Hisao’s problem was in his pants. Painting the mural. The festival, the art club.

The exhibition, and all the sad and uncomfortable stuff that had come with it. She didn’t want to do that again.

Hugging Hisao. Touching him, and him touching her. A hill covered in dandelions. Words with a weird taste.

The feeling inside her heart that everything in the world was alright.

“Hello,” she said, and ate her forkful of curry.

“Hello, I was looking for supplies for the festival stalls. I’m sorry, I didn’t think that anybody else would be here,” Hisao said. The words weren’t quite the same, but Rin was sure they still meant the same thing as last time. She blinked. Then again, a dream was a dream. It wasn’t real, even if it did seem like it. But Hisao was here, and he was saying words with the same meaning as before, so her dream was still right.

Could Rin not do the bad stuff and still do the good stuff? She didn’t know, but she wanted to try.

“There isn’t,” she said, “that’s why I’m here too.”

* * *

Later, after she had asked Hisao if his problem was in his pants and he had gone away with the festival supplies, Rin had gone back to her dorm. Emi had run up to her in the corridor while making an I-don’t-understand face.

“I met a boy today. He’s called Hisao,” Emi said. “How did you know?”

Rin looked at her. “I met him. Today, and the today before today.” Emi made her not-understanding-face even more not understanding, so Rin tried again. “I met him before, but I don’t think he’s met me before.”

Emi stared at her. “What, did you go back in time or something? Seriously, Rin, how did you know about Hisao?”

Rin cocked her head. Go back in time? That sounded nice. She didn't really care about the how's or why's, but that meant that all the good things really did happen. Could happen again.

“I hope so. I want the weird taste again.”

Emi looked at her despairingly. “What?”

* * *

**1.3 Masterweaver**

* * *

Unseen Futures

When Lilly woke up, she knew something was wrong. The sheets were a touch more rigid, and the bed much smaller. And her own body was smaller too--not by much, she was only three centimeters shorter and two kilos slimmer--but for somebody who relied so much on their sense of proprioception to get around it was more than a little distressing. She reached out, her fingers grasping the edge of the mattress much sooner than they should have, noting the absence of the warm body she recalled falling asleep next to...

She sat up, brushing the sheets aside. Her toes hit the floor, and again there was a wrongness--the wood wasn't the kind in their bedroom. It was clear she'd been moved in her slumber, which... didn't explain why her body felt wrong, and brought up a number of worrying questions. And yet, even as she rose, even as she warily reached for her cane, something about the room seemed familiar. Incredibly familiar, in fact, she could almost swear she was back in her old bedroom, from when she was staying with Akira. But that couldn't be right, that would mean...

...it would mean...

Lilly scrambled for her desk, hands brushing across the knickknacks of a much younger version of herself. She couldn't find the music box. Had it fallen off? She lowered herself to the ground, poking her hand around the various nooks and crannies that the furniture set up, only to come up blank again, and again, and again. Eventually, she crawled to the center of her room, resting on her knees as her eyes grew damp.

Her memories of what had happened were clear. How she and Hisao had met, and how he had sensed her true self behind the act. The music box he'd bought when they were shopping for Hanako's gifts... the way he'd overexerted herself for her. The worry he'd caused her... the bond they'd shared. It didn't feel like a dream, but... here she was, in her old room.

She could hear her sister moving around downstairs. It... had to be a dream. It couldn't be a dream. There was too much detail, she could remember every touch--but, realistically, what other explanation was there?

Lilly wiped the tears out of her eyes. It wouldn't do to worry Akira over nothing. With a deep, shuddering breath, she grabbed her cane and strapped it to her belt, walking into the kitchen.

* * *

Yesterday, things proceeded almost exactly as she had dreamed. To be honest, Lilly didn't notice any differences at all. It was... unnerving. She'd heard of blind prophets, of course, they were such a staple of fantasy and legend, but...

_ Was _ she a prophet? And if so, what was she supposed to be prophesying? She considered looking more seriously into shinto over the weekend.

She took a sip of her tea, one ear out for the door. If things were playing on repeat, she could expect it to start creaking right... about... now.

Yes, there it went. And in came his hesitant footsteps. "Hello?"

Lilly frowned--briefly, for a moment, quickly hidden. "Hello there. May I help you?"

"Yeah, sorry for intruding, I'm just a bit lost."

There it was again. Something... off. She went over the memories of her dream even as she spoke. "Care to take a seat?"

"Sure. Thanks."

No hesitation... not like before. And he had greeted her first, when she recalled it the other way.

_ Had _ it been a dream...?

She put the teacup down on its saucer. "I take it you're a new student to Yamaku?"

"Yeah, I just transferred in yesterday."

Another hiccup... and something in his tone seemed wrong. Too smooth, too confident... not sauve or cocky, but for a boy who just transferred here, there should have been more nervousness.

A suspicion began to steal over her, vague and undefined and hopeful.

"My name is Lilly Satou. It's a pleasure to meet you, ah...?"

If she hadn't been listening for it, she might not have noticed his brief hesitation. "Hisao. Hisao Nakai."

Did he remember too? Was it some sort of shared dream? "Would you care for a drink?"

"Sure."

She stood, walking over to the shelf where the tea supplies were kept, keeping her breath steady. She had to know. But how could she know? What could she ask that...

...ah.

"Do you know, it's getting harder and harder to find somebody who likes tea?" Her fingers brushed over the selection of tea leaves, picking one in particular. "There's my friend, of course, but sometimes I think she's just humoring me."

"I don't think Hanako would do that."

Lilly smirked. "Perhaps... have you two met?"

"...we go to the same class," Hisao said slowly.

"Making friends so quickly." She poured the water into the teacup. "Almost as if you've... lived this before."

A sharp inhale.

She nodded, putting the pitcher back and reaching for the small spoon. "Alright. So I can understand that you didn't seek me out at the start, because--"

"How many times?"

"...what?"

"How many times have you gone back in time?"

Lilly stopped stirring. "...I've... this is the first time." She didn't turn around. "Is it... not... yours?"

"...this is my fifteenth... repeat? Loop? I don't know what to call this."

"Oh."

For a moment, all she could hear was his soft breathing.

And then she spun around.

"Hisao--"

"Lilly--"

They paused for a moment.

"Hisao," Lilly said slowly, "what is going on?"

"I... I honestly have no idea."

* * *

Technically, they should have gone to the library, but at this point there were matters more important than the script.

"Fifteen times... fifteen times." Lilly took another cautious sip of her tea. "All the drama, and then... back."

"Yeah. It was... weird, the first time. Weird, well, every time."

"Well... we did plan to spend our future together," she mused. "I didn't... expect it to be this, over and over again, but--"

"Lilly, what do you remember?"

Hisao's tone held... urgency, curiosity, and a hint of fear. She took a moment to brush her hand against his, gently checking his pulse. "I remember... well, I remember us. You got me a music box when we went shopping for Hanako's gifts... and you ran after me the second time I went to the airport, and you collapsed, and that's... that's when we decided to try to build a life together."

"...And that's all you remember?"

"Well, not everything," Lilly admitted, "but do you want me to talk about everything that happened... last time?"

Hisao sighed. "No, that's not... Lilly. When... the first time I came back to the past, there was... it wasn't just one future."

"I... don't understand."

"I don't know if I was repeating or looping before I remembered it. It's... I remember a future where we get together, Lilly, but I also remember futures where we don't. From before I started repeating. If that makes any sense."

Lilly pulled her hand back, slowly. "...oh."

"...it's... I don't know. It feels like... maybe what happened, back when I had my first heart attack, maybe... maybe I became different Hisaos... and then, suddenly, I was all of them at once? It's confusing for me..."

"In... in these other futures..." Lilly swallowed. "Are we--?"

"We're always friends, at the least," Hisao assured her. "Close friends, sometimes, it's just... there's only one where I end up with you specifically."

Lilly narrowed in on that word. "Specifically?"

"Well, um." Hisao chuckled awkwardly. "There are... some of the futures... I do end up with... others..."

She took a deep breath, grabbing his hand again. "I need you to tell me," she said slowly, "that you did not know about our future in any of these other timelines."

"I didn't," he said firmly. "I swear, each timeline seemed... separate, past a certain point."

"...Okay." His pulse hadn't risen too much when he said that. And it was an immediate response. "Okay," she said again, pulling her hand back. "I'm sorry, I just--"

"No, I understand. I... wouldn't want to do that to anyone."

Lilly took her teacup, sipping from it warily. "So... out of curiosity... who are these other girls? From the other futures?"

"Ah... well, there's only one in each, and... sometimes I end up messing everything up. But..." Hisao took a bracing breath. "Hanako. Rin. Emi. Shizune. Those are... those are the ones."

Lilly considered the list. Hanako, she could understand, Hisao's heart might have been weak but it was compassionate and warm. Shizune made sense too, in a way. Emi and Rin... she had to admit to herself she didn't know them as well as she could have.

"And... are any of them repeating?"

"Not as far as I can tell," Hisao replied. "I mean... I haven't, uh, romanced them since I started this... loop thing. I've checked in on them, helped with... what I helped with in their futures, before I started. Really, they all just need somebody to talk to."

"Yes... I suppose, yes. I did as well..." Lilly took a breath. "Well... I suppose I can't entirely blame you for not wanting to restart our relationship... not with, ah, what all you recall."

"Lilly..." Hisao's voice was soft. "Please, talk to me."

"...I..." Lilly sniffed. "It's just, I... the future we had, it was wonderful, and... and now, even though we both know, it--you have other futures. And what if they start repeating with us? What if... It's not fair to ask you to choose, just because I came first, but at the same time it isn't fair for me to lose you because of--of this! I mean, I know this is horrible, but I could have lost you to death, and that would have made sense. We could have broken up, and that would have made sense--but this, this doesn't make sense, and.... I can't blame you. It's not right to blame you for this, and..."

"Hey." Hisao took her hand. "I... just because I have memories of other futures doesn't mean I've forgotten ours."

"But, but if we choose this, just because I'm first--"

"I... we need to figure out what this loop, this repeat is, first. Find the pattern, the code. After that... after that we can sit down and talk things out, you and me and whoever else is repeating, okay?"

"...okay." Lilly swallowed. "Okay. It... we can work together. To help the others, who, uh, need people to talk to."

"...You'd be willing to do that?"

"Yes. It's not their fault. It's not anybody's fault, as far as I can tell." She managed a trembling smile. "And... who knows? Maybe... maybe we'll be able to figure something out, about all this, before it becomes a problem."

* * *

**1.4 Drebom**

* * *

Painting

Rin had gone back in time a few times now, and she was starting to think that it was going to keep happening for a long time. This was both not good and not bad. It wasn’t especially good, because having the same lessons repeatedly was getting boring. On the other hand, for some reason things were always different enough— not in class, but with people, especially Hisao —that she wasn’t getting too bored.

Hisao had not yet acted the quite same way as he had the first time. He still talked to her, but he didn’t encourage her to do the exhibition. He even helped her say no to Mr. Nomiya. That was nice of him.

Hisao was still looking at her with that new sad face sometimes. She had seen him looking like that with a few other people too, like Emi.

Hisao hadn’t said the words again. Not even when they went to see the dandelions. But then, he still made the same sorts of faces, so maybe that was like he was saying them? Rin wasn’t sure if him not actually saying the words was bad or not. She hadn’t said them again either yet. They felt funny when she thought them, though. Like her brain was tasting them, and it thought they were as weird as her tongue did.

“What is it?”

Pulled from her thoughts, Rin looked up. Emi, her face shadowed by the shade of the Worry Tree, was looking over her shoulder in curiosity. They hadn’t done this before, painting under the Worry Tree, but Rin had decided she wanted to and had asked Emi for help moving her supplies. Rin looked back at her canvas and considered it for a moment.

It was a picture of Hisao, his new sad look on one side of his face and the other side smiling. He was standing on a path that arched over and around in a loop, with himself in the background again, although less detailed, and in a few places overhead as well. A long tongue lolled out of the smiling side of his mouth.

“Hisao,” Rin said.

Emi peered closer at the canvas. “ _ Hisao?” _ she said, surprised. “That’s Hisao?”

“Yes,” Rin said. “Can’t you tell? I thought it looked a lot like him.”

“He’s green,” said Emi.

Rin tilted her head. “So?”

“That’s…” Emi shook her head. “Never mind. Is it done?”

“Not yet,” said Rin. “So it’s bad luck to talk about it. We shouldn’t have done that. I need some pink. But not too pink. I need some red too.”

Emi obediently measured out some of the pink paint, and under Rin’s instruction mixed in a small amount of red. She only needed three tries to get it right. Then, Rin carefully dabbed the colour onto Hisao’s tongue. A little blob that meant the words 'I love you'.

“There,” she said. “Now it’s done.”

* * *

**1.5 Masterweaver**

* * *

Ambition

Shizune was cackling maniacally atop a tank, her sword pointed down the road. She signed one-handed at Misha, who grinned broadly and turned to the watching crowd. "CITIZENS OF JAPAN! TODAY, YOUR NEW EMPRESS TAKES THE THRONE!"

Hisao watched, dumbfounded, as the machine rolled down the road.

"...Lilly? What... what did you do?"

"I... honestly, I don't know," Lilly managed faintly. "I thought I'd convince Shizune to give Misha a chance, and they started dating and... well... I don't know what they talked about, but--"

"YOU GO HON!" Jigiro lifted Hideaki onto his shoulders. "There's your big sister, son, fulfilling her destiny!"

"...that would explain  _ some _ of this," Lilly mused.

"Sure, but where would they get a tank?" Hisao asked.

"Easier than you might think," Rin informed them, striding by with a ladder strapped to her back and a lamp balanced on her head.

* * *

**1.6 Masterweaver**

* * *

Honey or Vinegar?

Hisao considered his options carefully.

"...Kenji, think of it this way. If there is a feminist conspiracy... girls still have to be inducted, right?"

Kenji frowned. "Yeeeeeeees?"

"And to induct them, the conspiracy has to convince new members it's worth their time. That oppressing men is a good thing."

"Okay...?"

"But if the girls find men they like, they won't want to oppress them," Hisao concluded. "That leaves the feminists with less willing recruits and undermines their conspiracy."

"Aaaaaaaah. So by acting all naive and kind, you're undermining their nefarious schemes!"

"Yes," Hisao said, face entirely emotionless. "That's it exactly."

"Well, you fight your way, and I'll fight my way. Good luck!"

Kenji walked down the hall, whistling to himself. Hisao sighed, turning to Lilly. "Yes, that's the easiest way to get him off my back I've discovered."

"If it were anyone else, I would be far more upset than I am, but..." She waved vaguely after the boy. "I get complaints about him every month."

"You know he used to have a girlfriend? Apparently they, uh... got intimate, and then he got tired, and he freaked out about that."

"...I thought that was the result of the hormones."

"Well, apparently he didn't know that. So now there's this whole feminist conspiracy in his head, about all women being sex vampires or something..."

Lilly hummed thoughtfully. "Are we sure he's at Yamaku because he's  _ blind?" _

* * *

**1.7 Drebom**

* * *

Fingers and Toes

Rin woke up. She was back in her bed again, despite the fact she had only just been walking to her dorm room at the end of the day. Her clock said it was morning, which further suggested time had gone back on itself again.

Rin sat up. Something wasn’t right. She looked down at herself, confused. Rin frowned as she lifted up the sheets to discover that her legs had gone missing. That was…uncomfortable. She had lost some of her Rin-ness. Where had it gone? She wanted it back.

Rin looked from the legs that she didn’t have but should, to the hands that she did have but shouldn’t. They were holding her sheets up for her. That was helpful, but they made her feel uncomfortable too.

“Oh,” she said.

She let go of her sheets and wiggled the fingers. They were long, like worms. Not at all like her toes. She missed her toes. How had this happened?

Then, Rin remembered that she had been born without legs. That was rather worrying. But…she could still remember being born without arms too. Or the fact that she had been born without arms, at least. Rin couldn’t remember her actual birth, of course. Either of them. Had time done something strange again?

Thinking further, Rin remembered a life of having no legs that she was fairly sure she hadn’t actually lived. Definitely time-related strangeness. Rin hoped that it would fix itself. She didn’t think she could do it.

The strange Rin-with-arms memories said she knew an Emi-with-legs-and-no-arms. At least she knew where her missing Rin-ness had gone now. Emi had it. And that meant Rin probably had some of Emi’s Emi-ness in exchange. She hadn’t agreed to that.

Some more prodding of the strange memories helped Rin to understand how to put on the prosthetic legs she found lying beside her bed. They also told her she needed to help the strange Emi to get dressed. It was all very backwards, but at least she somehow remembered how to do it all.

When Hisao came to the art room for his festival supplies a few days later, he looked surprised and stared at her. He hadn’t done that in a while. Clearly, he was as surprised by the Rin-with-no-legs as Rin herself was. Or he just hadn’t seen a girl without legs before yet this time around. Rin was fairly sure that would be Emi, normally. Although, considering Emi’s current level of Rin-ness, that still meant that if Hisao was collecting problems, he would still have both ’no arms’ and ‘no legs’. Good for him.

Rin was just glad he hadn’t seen her a few days earlier. It had taken her a while to figure out how to eat with hands, before she had realized her body knew how all on its own. She had ended up with rice all over her clothes more than once. That would have been embarrassing.

That set the tone for the next few months. Rin would find her body knew how to do things like walk and paint without legs, letting her get through the days without too much trouble, whilst Hisao stared at her from time to time for some reason. Aside from her and Emi's respective limbs, nothing else had seemed to change. Which was nice, because by now Rin was getting quite good at saying 'no' to Mr. Nomiya. If he had changed too, she might have been in trouble.

Despite her newfound ability to use hands, however, Rin still missed her feet. And so, she was very glad when she woke up back in time again and found her Rin-ness intact once more. She looked down at her legs, having awkwardly kicked off the sheets, and smiled.

* * *

**1.8 Masterweaver**

* * *

Scarred Timelines

Yamaku had become an interesting place for Lilly. The school layout barely changed, but the student body seemed to... fluctuate, for lack of a better term. Hisao was always there, and the other girls—she suppressed the quick stab of jealousy—were there too. Actually, Hisao’s entire class seemed alike from loop to loop. In fact, everyone he had met before time broke stuck around. It was almost as though he was a walking beacon of stability for them... maybe that was related to why he was the first one to start the time travel mess. Outside of that, though, Lilly had to handle a group that was always... similar, but not identical. And stranger still, she always knew them, even if they hadn't been around the loop before... It was, frankly, mildly disturbing.

It might have influenced her decision to stray closer to Hanako and Shizune over the loops. To say Lilly was quick to adapt would not be exactly true. Time on repeat, after all, was the stuff of fantasy. But after her second loop, which Hisao had told her took place four loops after her first, she’d taken to the situation with something resembling her usual dignity. Admittedly she hadn’t helped out much with Rin or Emi, since they weren’t exactly close enough for her sudden assistance to not seem creepy. At least with Shizune and Hanako, she had enough presence to be able to interject reasonably...

Although she still didn't understand how and why Shizune had gotten a tank and started conquering Japan that one loop.

So it was that today, a day like any other, Lilly arranged to meet Hanako. Entirely by "accident," of course, she didn't want to put too much stress on her friend. She lingered outside the classroom, listening to the students as they poured out.

"...Lilly?"

"Hanako, hello."

"I..." Hanako had a note of surprise in her voice. "...I wasn't expecting you here."

"I'm sorry, did you have anything planned?"

"No." Hanako sighed. "I'm sorry, I just... it's nothing."

Lilly reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hanako... it clearly  _ is _ something."

"You... wouldn't believe me," Hanako said. "I'm not even sure..."

She trailed off for a moment. Lily sensed her breath being held, briefly, before being let out.

"I'll try to figure it out myself... okay?"

"Are you--?" Lilly cut herself off. "...of course. But I have to ask, is this a personal problem, or--?"

"No. Yes...? No, it... it isn't, yet."

Yet? What could be...

Oh.

"Let me guess. You have a crush on the new student."

Hanako's shoulders tightened. "How did you--uh... know there was a new student?"

There was a level of disbelief in her tone. A curiosity about something unexpected. Lilly smiled. "Oh, I've met Hisao."

"Really?" Hanako's voice was uncertain. "When... when exactly did you meet him?"

She inhaled, tightening her grasp on Hanako's shoulder. "Tomorrow."

Hanako's breath caught.

"...You've gone back in time too, haven't you?"

There was silence for a moment. And then, "Yes," in that quick tone people used when they remembered Lilly couldn't see their gestures. And then, in a tone of realization,  _ "Too?" _

* * *

Hanako sat, carefully gripping her cup.

"...You and Hisao."

"Yes."

She took a nervous sip.

"...Does... does Hisao remember--"

Lilly sighed. "Hanako, Hisao... he... we don't know how this happened, but we do know that the time travel hit him first."

"Yes, you said that--"

"And it... affected him, somehow." Lilly bit her lip. "When I started repeating, I remembered  _ one _ past. And... you remember one past, right? One life before this?"

"Yes." Hanako frowned. "He... he remembers more than one?"

"He... remembers," Lily said slowly, "before he started repeating, more than one. Somewhere around... thirteen, I think, but five are the most important. Every past has him... have his heart attack, come to Yamaku, and then... it starts to change when he arrives."

"Change?"

"The first time he repeated, he remembered many pasts... each one, where he dated and fell in love with a different girl."

Hanako inhaled sharply. "So... the past... that I remember... the one where he and I, um--"

"Got together?" Lilly's smile was sympathetic and sad. "When I started repeating, I remembered the one where he got together with  _ me _ ."

"You--"

"He told me about the split pasts right away," Lilly assured her. "And I asked him... I made sure he didn't remember any of them while they were happening, that he never knowingly... we agreed," she said slowly, "that we shouldn't continue our relationship with that. Not until we figured out why time is repeating, because... well, that wouldn't be fair to him, or to me, or to you, or to any of the other girls. It's... been a struggle, I'll admit that, but... Hanako, you know I wouldn't ever--"

"No," Hanako interjected quickly, "I know you wouldn't." She rubbed her cup quietly. "Is he... repeating now?"

"He is. I mean... whenever I repeat, he's there too, but apparently, I'm not always there when he does. We think it's because he's at the center of this... whatever this is."

"Right. Lilly, I--"

Hanako cut herself off.

"...Lilly, did you... um... in the past you remember--"

"We were intimate," Lilly said, quietly. "Hisao says, in all the pasts he remembers, he was... with the girl he loved in that past. We haven't... been intimate in the repeats though." She paused. "I'm sorry, I know asking you to abide by a decision made without you--"

"It makes sense," Hanako admitted. "It... it's not fair, and I'm kind of mad at you, but not... at  _ you _ , exactly. You didn't... I'm angry and confused and sad and confused and worried and confused and..."

"Yes, that was about how I was when Hisao first told me."

"He's seen you naked."

Lilly chuckled blandly. "Hanako, I'm fairly certain  _ you've _ seen me naked."

Hanako blushed. "That's different, we were... younger. And..." She paused. "Five girls, you said?"

"Yes. You, me, Shizune, and... Emi and Rin, I don't know if you recall them."

"...Rin... she painted that mural, didn't she?"

Lilly nodded. "Yes... from what I hear, it was quite the work of art."

Hanako blinked, opened her mouth to apologize... and then shut it with a hum.

"...It's been a while since I've heard that hum."

"What?"

"The 'I was about to apologize but then I remembered Lilly doesn't mind it when other people mention seeing things so long as they don't flaunt it and she would rather be treated like a normal person' hum."

Hanako looked at the sardonic grin on her face.

"Are you... are you messing with me?"

"Maybe just a little," Lilly allowed. "I... I guess I just... missed you, in a way. With time looping, I--"

"Oh." Hanako nodded. "Right. Right, I... Well, I'm here now. And..."

She took a sip of her drink.

"I don't know what to think about the whole Hisao thing," she admitted. "But whatever else... you were my friend for longer than he was. So... yeah, I'm here now. And... I'll be here every repeat I can."

Lilly's smile turned soft. "...Thank you, Hanako. I really... I really do appreciate it."

* * *

**1.9 Masterweaver**

* * *

Reflections

"So... um... do you, by any chance have a sister named Hanako?"

"That depends. Do you have a brother named Hisao?"

"It feels like I lived his life before, if that's what you're asking."

"Oh thank god. Hisao, what's--what's going on?" The boy gestured at himself. "This is--"

"I don't know, Hanako, but I do know that things... change some loops. It's Misaki, by the way."

"What?"

"My name," the girl explained. "It's Misaki this loop."

"...right... and I'm Haruki." He sighed in exasperation. "This is weird. I thought time repeating was weird enough, but suddenly I have--" He cut himself off.

"I'm just as weirded out," Misaki assured him. "I mean, it's almost like that one time Rin had arms and Emi had legs--"

"I'm just supposed to call Lily Nori now? How will she--he--my voice is different, how will my friend recognize me? Or you?"

"...that's an interesting question. We..." Misaki shook her head. "Well, it'll only come up if she's here for this loop. If not, you've got a guy friend to pal around with."

Haruki sighed. "Well... at least it's just us who are confused. We really have to figure out this time thing before... I don't know, Shizune joins us?"

"Don't you mean Shin'ya?"

Haruki gave Misaki a pointed look. "Don't even. This is confusing enough as is!"

* * *

Rin contemplated his situation.

He was still Rin. No arms, flexible legs, and a mind that moved in its own patterns. The only thing different was that he was... well, he. But that seemed to be going around everyone. Masami wasn't Emi anymore either, but Hisao was Misaki now. And giving everyone the surprised look he'd given her when she had Emi's Eminess.

Rin rolled these thoughts around in his head, examining them from different angles, and eventually gave his conclusion. "Mirrors still have the same colors." With a shrug, he went back to sketching on his pad.

* * *

**1.10 Masterweaver**

* * *

Status Report

"So... here's what we know," Hisao said. "One, we're all looping, or repeating or whatever we want to call it. Two, I can loop alone, but you two can never loop without me. Three..."

He paused.

"...You've had a relationship with both of us before time started repeating," Hanako finished quietly.

"Yes. So... I... I went online and found out that in this one movie, a guy was trapped in a time loop. And to get out, he had to engineer a perfect day. For everyone."

Lilly huffed. "That works for a  _ story _ , but does it apply to us? There's more than just you in this time loop."

"And there are times things are different," Hanako added, fidgeting awkwardly.

"Honestly... I don't know, I'm just throwing ideas out." Hisao sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Maybe it's aliens just screwing with us. Maybe Iwanako is a witch and she cursed us all. Maybe Kenji's crazy theories about a feminist conspiracy are based on fact--not likely," he admitted quickly, "but at this point we know next to nothing."

Hanako hummed, tapping her fingers on the table. "...have you ever changed anything?"

"Tank Shizune," Lilly deadpanned.

"What?"

"We got Shizune to agree to date Misha one loop," Hisao explained. "End result? She found a tank and took over Japan... somehow."

"O...kay..." Hanako shook her head. "What I was going to say was, maybe there's something that happens. Somebody somewhere presses a time travel button or something, and what we need to do is get them not to press that button."

"Would that explain the loops where things are different?" Lilly asked.

"Maybe? I don't know, it could be quantum... something. Or something." She shook her head. "My point is, maybe if we change things the right way, it'll domino effect down to the secret time laboratory where this all started and... unstart it. So... what can we change?"

Hisao tapped his chin. "...what if... what if I put together a list of everything I learned in the pasts before I started repeating?"

"Yeah, that might work." Hanako frowned. "But, um... does that mean talking about..." She fidgeted for a bit. "You know... you being... intimate?"

For a moment, there was silence.

"...I don't think the fate of the world hinges on how Hisao has sex," Lilly said, face absolutely straight. "If it does, then we are in quite a bit of trouble."

* * *

**1.11 Masterweaver**

* * *

An Unexpected Perspective

Lilly had spent most of her life helping others, and repeating time didn't change that very much. The fluidity of her classroom was, ironically enough, a help in that regard--aside from Kenji and his delusions, the majority of class 3-2 would always need a different form of assistance from their representative. Especially the ones who weren't  _ born _ blind, and there she had experience with Hanako to help guide her. Help and be helped... it fulfilled her, in a way she wasn't sure she needed.

Of course, there was the issue of time repeating now--with Hisao and... Hanako. Her joining them in these time loops had only confirmed what Hisao had suspected, but had also led to an unfair awkwardness. The two of them were friends, after all... friends who had unwittingly slept with the same boy, who himself couldn't be blamed for the situation and was actually very nice and kindhearted. There was a sense that they  _ should _ be angry--that somebody, somewhere, had violated the unspoken tenets of social bonds and it was pretty likely to be one of them--but the knowledge of time's brokenness somehow made them unsure of who to be angry at.

It didn't help that Hisao's condition could trigger if his heart started pumping too fast. That it was literally possible to kill him by upsetting him too much. What could possibly have been handled with a good session of yelling at each other was instead left to simmer uncertainly, nobody willing to risk openly discussing...

...well.

So, with the awkward not talking everyone was doing, Lilly had decided to befriend the girls she wasn't familiar with. Emi was certainly easy enough--they weren't exactly strangers, they just didn't move in the same circles. Once she got past her casual crudity, Lilly found the girl to be refreshingly direct to be around. True, the moment the conversation turned to deeper subjects, Emi forcefully changed topics, but after what Hisao had mentioned she could understand that. Rin, though...

Rin was an enigma.

She focused on her mural the first week, and that was always awkward enough. There was no way Lilly could be of help here, she couldn't even be assured the buckets of paint were organized, so she tended to avoid the girl entirely at the start of the loop. In fact, it was rare for her to interact with Rin at all--Hisao might sometimes introduce them to each other, but Rin was an artist, in a world of colors and strangely structured sentences, without even hands for Lilly to grasp. It was wrong to think of a person as eldritch, perhaps. But to Lilly, Rin was a pressing example of another world that happened to intersect with hers, a strange creature that gibbered in tongues and whose presence could only be noticed, not comprehended. So being singled out by the girl one day while she was in the library was more than a little disturbing.

"There's something I want you to check out."

She continued running her fingers over braille pages, almost certain Rin wasn't addressing her.

"...I didn't know class representatives switched classes."

Lilly paused, tilting her head up. "I'm sorry?"

"Oh. I thought you were Shizune in Lilly's clothes for a moment there."

It took her a moment to parse Rin's words. "...because I didn't respond to what you said, right?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, I... thought you were speaking to somebody else."

Rin hummed thoughtfully. "How do you know when somebody is talking to you instead of somebody who isn't you?"

"They usually say my name first."

"Oh, that makes sense." Rin cleared her throat. "So, Lilly, there's something I want you to check out."

"Do you have it with you?"

"Actually, I have it up in my room." For a moment, she was quiet. "I don't know how to lead you there."

"You could grab--ah, right. Hmm.  _ I _ could grab your sleeve. If you're amiable to that."

And so Rin dragged Lilly out the library and into the dorms. It was a little odd, trusting her fate to a piece of cloth that tugged her along instead of a warm hand. Somehow, though, she suspected it wouldn't be the oddest thing she experienced.

"Okay, here it is." Rin paused. "Oh, right. The painting's in front of you."

Lilly bit back her first reaction. "You want me to check out a painting."

"It would be a real waste if I brought you here for nothing."

"Rin... you know I'm blind, right?"

"Yeah, that's why I want you to check this painting out."

"Blind people can't see," Lilly explained, carefully and very calmly.

"Well, this painting isn't for people who can see."

Lilly considered those words for a moment.

"...do you want me to  _ feel  _ the painting?" she asked.

"Yes. I thought that was obvious."

"Ah." Lilly exhaled slowly. "For future reference, there are a number of blind individuals who have grown up taunted by those who aren't blind for being unable to see artworks. It might be better to refer to works meant to be felt as a 'tactile... facade,' or something like that."

"Tactile art piece. Okay."

Lilly reached out, gently, running her fingers over the canvas and tracing up to a corner. Her hands trailed along the ridges and grooves she found, noting the waves and spirals they formed. "This is... very... um, impressionistic?"

"You think so?"

"I... don't know much about art," Lilly admitted. "That might be another problem, paint is not really... well, clearly you put effort into making this feel solid, but most blind people who are interested in arts tend to go for audio things. Music and maybe radio drama. I guess a statue might work... I'm sorry, Rin, but this won't attract the attention of the blind community."

"Oh." Rin was quiet for a moment. "Okay... but what do  _ you _ think about it?"

"Well... it... feels interesting," Lilly admitted. "A lot of curves... and spirals. I... guess it makes me feel relaxed. As though life carries on."

"Alright."

Lilly pulled her hand back. "Well... thank you for making the effort to share your art with me. I really do appreciate the attempt."

"All art is an attempt."

"...That it is," Lilly agreed. "If you'll excuse me..."

She walked out the door sedately, picking up her pace as soon as she was out of earshot.

* * *

Rin looked after Lilly, then at the painting of a sun that was also a clock.

"Statues... maybe I should work with clay for a bit."

* * *

**1.12 Masterweaver**

* * *

Lowering Shields

Hanako glanced up from her book, sighing as Hisao appeared from around the bookshelves. "Oh."

"I guess you're repeating this time?"

"Yep."

"Okay... do you, uh, need anything?"

She almost opened her mouth, almost made the sarcastic quip--but a thought of Lilly cut her off.

"Hanako?"

"Eh? Oh. Sorry, I..." Hanako shook her head. "I'm... fine, mostly. I think... I think I'll talk with Emi later. Help her out, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess... you'd understand where she was coming from." Hisao winced, rubbing the back of his head. "So... I guess I'll try to mend the gap between Lilly and Shizune... maybe help out Rin--"

"How do  _ you _ feel about all this?"

"Eh?"

"I mean..." Hanako bit her lip. "Back... before, you were all depressed because of what happened to you. But now you seem... you're working with us. Helping us, and... I haven't heard you say anything about yourself--about what you're going through."

Hisao blinked, staring into the distance for a moment. "I... huh. I haven't, have I? I guess..." He shrugged. "I guess I feel like if I talk about me, I have to... I mean, you know why... you know how I remember different pasts, before time started repeating."

"Yes," Hanako said, glancing away.

"It's just... I feel if I start talking about what  _ I'm _ going through, I'll have to talk about how I feel about the girls who..." He trailed off for a moment. "I mean, love isn't something you... just forget, you know?"

"I know," Hanako muttered, not quite keeping the anger out of her tone.

Hisao winced. "Hanako, I--"

"So in order to keep us from getting upset, you decide not to bring up what could upset us," she continued. "You decide to play the level-headed, caring man with no actual attachments because you know that talking about other girls will hurt us--but that also means not talking about us, Hisao! That also means keeping whatever you've got going on bottled up! It means..."

She trailed off.

"...Hanako, I... honestly? I don't know what the right thing to do is. I'm not doing this to protect--well, not just to protect you." Hisao let out a low breath. "I... I think I'm doing this to protect myself, too. Because... I don't know how to go forward from here, and..." He held his hands out helplessly. "There  _ should _ be a talk. I just don't know how to have it, or who to have it with."

She pinched her brow. "Let's start simple, then. How  _ do _ you feel about all this?"

"...confused. Worried. I... I don't know why this is happening. Helping people, yes, it distracts me from my own issues, but it also makes me feel like I mean something. That my actions aren't just going to be wiped away when this time loop ends..." Hisao leaned against a bookshelf, his expression falling. "At least when you or Lilly remembers, I... I know what I'm doing sticks. That it matters. I want to think... maybe if I keep helping, maybe somehow, whatever caused this will let us live again, you know?"

Hanako swallowed, her anger disintegrating with a pang of guilt as she looked at his exhausted expression. She almost apologized...

...no. It wouldn't help.

Instead, she stood and, after a moment of hesitation, brought him into a gentle hug. "It  _ does _ matter. Even if it doesn't affect time, you... your actions will impact you, if nobody else. And... I know that Lilly and I, with what happened before, that it's a little awkward between us all, but I want you to know... we're here if you need to talk. And who knows..." She forced herself to keep the thought going. "Maybe... the other girls... will start repeating with us. And we can... all, uh... be friends, or something."

For a moment, Hisao said nothing.

"...This is really getting to you, huh?"

"Yes," Hanako said flatly. "Yes it is. I actually want one of the other girls to start repeating because I can't yell at  _ Lilly,  _ if that makes any sense."

"No, I can get that." Hisao chuckled, returning the hug. "I really am sorry to put you through this. Both of you... all of you... and just you. It's... complicated."

"Don't you dare try to spare me emotional distress or whatever."

"Not going to."

Hanako smiled. "Good."

* * *

**1.13 Skaz Wolfman**

* * *

Silent Overture

Hisao was awakened by a frantic hammering on his door. It almost sounded like a jackhammer, both in tempo and volume.  _ ‘Shizune’ _ he thought as he rolled out of bed and stumbled groggily to the door. He opened his door and the short, blue-haired Student Council President bolted into the room under his arm. Before he could even close the door, she was tugging impatiently on his sleeve in a way that he knew to mean ‘Look at me so I can sign at you!’

He shut the door and turned around, and Shizune immediately launched into a rapid-fire barrage of signing. [Last week we were graduating and now we are back at your first week at Yamaku and no one else seems to remember except me but instead of being all mopey and depressed like you were before you are a social butterfly who talks to everyone even though you still seem a little mopey about something so my best guess is that you remember as well but you have no chill so if this is not freaking you the hell out like it is freaking me out you must understand how this happened so please explain!] she signed.

Unfortunately, very little of that had penetrated Hisao’s half-awake brain. “Coffee, first. Then whatever you’re freaking out about,” he said aloud and signed at her.

Shizune glared at him, but then her eyes widened. Hisao knowing sign language was irrefutable proof of her theory that he remembered the future she had left behind. She just had to be patient, which she figured was only fair since Hisao so often had to be patient with her…

She followed him as they left his room, heading towards the cafeteria.

* * *

Hanako and Lilly ran up and found Hisao talking to a very worried and confused looking Misha outside of the Student Council room. It sounded like someone was inside the room, breaking stuff. Hisao turned to face them, and Hanako winced at the bright red marks across the sides of his face. His cheeks looked just a little puffy and swollen, too.

“Hisao, what’s going on? Is Shizune in there?” Hanako asked. She didn’t ask if Shizune had slapped him, because that much seemed obvious. Misha was loud and boisterous, sure, but not violent as far as she knew. Having seen the death glares Shizune sometimes gave Lilly, she had no problem imagining the Student Council President getting physical when she was enraged.

“It’s not like Shizune to resort to property damage when she’s upset,” Lilly remarked.

“Took some doing before she understood,” said Hisao, “But once she did…that is, once I explained the, uh…y’know, the thing with–”

“You and me and her and Hanako and Emi and Rin,” Lilly surmised.

“Yeah…she didn’t take it well,” Hisao said with a wince. “Not sure she believes that it’s not my fault somehow. And I really don’t think she wants to listen to me anymore, so I’ve been explaining things to Misha. She’s the best person I know at getting through to her, besides myself.”

“So it’s…all true?” asked an uncharacteristically quiet Misha. “All the…the going back in time stuff?”

“Afraid so, Misha,” said Lilly. She turned her head in Hisao’s general direction, “If you don’t mind, Hisao, I’d like to speak to Shizune as well.”

Hisao raised an eyebrow.  _ ‘Lilly’s…not exactly one of Shizune’s favorite people, and she’s already in a super bad mood…’ _

As if she could hear Hisao’s doubts, Lilly spoke again, “Please?”

The sounds of violence coming from in the room ceased.

Hisao sighed, “Well, if you can make her even angrier, I’ll be impressed.” He stepped aside and leaned against the wall. Misha opened the door, and Lilly followed her into the Student Council room before closing the door. Hanako leaned against the wall across from Hisao, and offered him an encouraging smile.

“She’s a tough girl,” Hanako remarked, “She’ll be alright. Once the shock wears off, I’m sure she’ll start brainstorming ways to use this weird time thing to her advantage.”

To her disappointment, Hisao’s frown deepened. “Shizune’s always looking ahead, planning her next move. Caught in a repeating time loop, which we have no idea if or when they’ll ever end, kind of robs her of those grand, future plans. She told me she wants to be a businesswoman and a philanthropist someday. How can she ever do that if she never gets to move on from high school?”

Hanako’s eyes widened a bit. “Damn, that’s a good point. Guess I can’t blame her for getting all worked up…did, um, did she actually…” Hanako trailed off, staring at Hisao’s cheek.

“Smack me? Yeah, twice. Back and forth,” Hisao replied. For some reason, he was smiling. “Funny thing…well, maybe not  _ funny _ , but…anyways, in the timeline where I sleep with Misha–”

“You  _ what _ ?!” Hanako gasped.

“Did I not mention that one?” Hisao asked, blinking innocently. Hanako narrowed her eyes at him. “Right, sorry…look, it was a mistake, alright? No question. In all the timelines I remember, it’s the only time I cheated on…any of you, and I regretted it almost immediately. Point being, in that timeline…I didn’t tell Shizune, and I don’t think Misha did either, but things didn’t work out between me and her anyways so I think she suspected it… _ point being _ , in that timeline Shizune didn’t slap me for cheating on her. Probably because I never admitted it to her face, so slapping me just now was probably just an impulse she couldn’t reign in. She’ll probably feel bad about it, when she feels better about…everything else.” He sighed wearily.

Hanako popped an eyebrow at that. “You fell in love with five different girls across a dozen timelines, and you only cheated on one of them?”

“I’m not going to say ‘in my defense’ because I don’t think it’s defensible…but while all my relationships had complications, Shizune had the most difficult personality. Well, her or Emi…or Rin…” Hisao trailed off, and Hanako suspected he would be blushing if her cheeks weren’t already bright-red. “No, Rin wasn’t difficult, just hard to understand at times. Many times. Shizune and Emi are definitely the most stubborn girls I…uh, know.”

Hanako actually started giggling. “It’s okay Hisao…I know what you mean.”

Hisao smiled at her. “Thanks…and thanks for not mentioning this,” he pointed at his cheek, “in front of Lilly.”

“I had a sneaking suspicion she’d want to talk to Shizune, figured it’d be better if she weren’t mad,” said Hanako, sitting down against the wall.

Hisao slid down onto his bottom as well. “Good call,” he complimented.

* * *

Inside the Student Council room, Misha’s eyes widened at the sight of Shizune sitting in a corner of the room with her forehead on her knees. She was breathing heavily, and the room around her was trashed. Filing cabinets and tables tipped over, one chair was in pieces (Misha guessed that Shizune had slammed it against the floor until it splintered), and small objects were strewn about.

“Shizune?” Lilly’s inquiring voice broke the almost-silence, her face tilted towards the sound of her cousin’s labored breathing. It took a second for Misha to realize Lilly was actually addressing her, probably asking how Shizune looked.

“She looks exhausted,” Misha replied.

“So she burned herself out already. That should make this…hmm,” Lilly cut herself off, and made to move forward.

Misha immediately grabbed her hand. “Wait! Careful, there’s…stuff all over the floor.”

Lilly slowly turned her head towards Misha and cocked her head. “I figured there would be. I do have my cane you know,” she pointed out as she started tapping the floor ahead of her with said cane, while carefully sliding her feet across the floor.

“Ah, right, heh-heh,” Misha chuckled nervously. She quickly bounded across the room to Shizune’s side. She very carefully raised her foot and, from a full leg away, poked Shizune’s shoulder. It was a testament to how worn out she was that all she did was turn her head so that her temple was against her knees. Misha dropped into a crouch so she was closer to eye-level with her.

“Hey, Shicchan. Hicchan told me what he told you…so, uh, I guess you’ve had a heck of a morning, huh?” said Misha while signing to Shizune.

Shizune was motionless and stared at her blankly for a moment, weakly raised her limp arms and slowly signed, [Hisao told me a lot of things. Crazy, impossible things. Things I did not like, but could not argue against because we are in the past and there is no way around it. He told me…]

Shizune paused and frowned. [He really told you everything?] she signed.

Misha nodded.

[Even the other timelines?]

Misha got a little pale, but she nodded.

[The one where you and he–]

Shizune abruptly stopped signing when Misha, blushing furiously, nodded vigorously.

[How did he make you believe it? You are kind of gullible, but this whole thing is insane.] Shizune signed.

“I…” Misha’s eyes darted to Lilly, who was only halfway across the room, nudging things out of her way with her cane and cautiously shuffling forth. Silently, Misha signed to Shizune, [He told me he knew…about my…my crush on you.] Her face was even redder than Hisao’s had been, now.

Shizune snorted, and the corner of her mouth twitched a bit. [He mentioned Lilly and Ikezawa sometimes remember the future, too.]

Misha nodded, and signed back [He mentioned that too. I asked if I ever remember, too. He said no.]

[Maybe you will someday…some repeat?] Shizune signed, then shrugged.

Lilly reached them, then, her cane poking one of Shizune’s feet. Shizune, having recovered some energy by now it seemed, flinched this time, lifting her head to look at Lilly. Upon recognizing her cousin, her expression only became more perplexed. “Misha? Shizune?” Lilly inquired, tilting her face in the direction she had last heard Misha’s voice.

“Y-yeah! Shicchan’s sitting right in front of you, Lilly,” said Misha.

Lilly said nothing more. She collapsed her cane and let it hang from its strap around her wrist, got down on her hands and knees, and felt her way towards Shizune. She put one hand on Shizune’s knee, then another on the side of her face. A moment later, she had lurched forward and wrapped both arms around Shizune’s shoulders. “Please, Misha, tell her that for once, I understand how she feels. How strange this all is. And that despite our differences, I’m here for her right now.”

Misha started to sign to Shizune, but she shook her head; the blue-haired girl closed her eyes and returned Lilly’s hug. She also, quickly, rubbed the moisture building in the corners of her eyes off on Lilly’s shoulders, skewing her glasses in the process.

* * *

Several minutes later, Hanako cautiously poked her head into the room. Her eyes widened, and quickly pulled Hisao into the room before shutting the door.

Misha was picking things up around the room, while Shizune and Lilly were sitting face-to-face on the floor. Lilly had her hands on Shizune’s, and Shizune was slowly signing with wide eyes. After a moment, Lilly took her hands off of Shizune’s  _ and signed back _ . It was slow, hesitant, and twice Shizune took hold of Lilly’s hands and corrected them.

“Um. So, what’s…Misha, what happened?” Hisao asked.

“Weeeeeell~, apparently Lilly’s been learning sign language from…the other mes,” said Misha, “From the, uh…the repeats. Did you know?”

“Can’t say I do. She never mentioned it to me,” Hisao replied. “Huh.”

“Wow, she must have been working on this for a long time,” Hanako remarked.

Hisao smiled, and then joined Misha in tidying up the mess. “I think you were right, Hanako. Shizune’s going to be fine. We’re all going to be fine.”

Hanako nodded, and helped Hisao and Misha, while Lilly and Shizune continued their slow, silent, only somewhat awkward heart-to-heart.

* * *

**1.14 Masterweaver**

* * *

Club Confusion

Lilly had tried to warn her about the fluidity of Yamaku's population in these time loops, but [time spin change all kittens] didn't really communicate the concept clearly, so she'd been forced to turn to Misha and ask her help. It took a few tries for Shizune to understand what her cousin was talking about, and she had thought maybe, maybe Lilly was exaggerating. Two or three different students being added or removed every repeat. That made sense, with butterfly theory and all. It couldn't be  _ that _ bad.

It  _ was _ that bad.

It was  _ worse _ than that bad.

Shizune read over the proposals this time. There were the standard clubs: track, debate, art, literature, a smattering of different board game clubs that would really be more efficient if they all poured together, she would have to talk to the people who sent in these papers. Then there were the stranger requests. Fishing club... boats were expensive, and she didn't know the cost of fishing rods. Rocketry club... it sounded pretty cool, but where would they launch their rockets? Belly-dancing club, and that was one she thought would be the strangest... until she turned over the next few pages. Tankery club... assassination club... transhuman modification club?

She looked over the list of activities and flinched. No, this would be bad enough at an ordinary school, but when a good portion of the class was blind or had hypoesthesia or tremors, it would be incredibly idiotic to allow them near anything like surgery. Wait until they could become doctors, she thought.

If they even could become doctors...

Shizune put the paper in the rejected pile with a sigh. There was still some money to spare for another club. She looked through the last through proposals, rolling her eyes at a few of the standard ridiculous ones. The Church of (Insert Anime Character Here) club had chosen to worship some girl named Madoka this time around. No religious organizations allowed, though, to the rejection pile it went. Yoga club, and she could understand why it was a constant proposal... she put that one into the maybes. Programming club...

Hmm.

She looked it over. It seemed a bit different from what she recalled. A lot more technical. The budget seemed around the same, though. Ordinarily, the programming club was rejected mostly to provide funding for other clubs. This time...

Shizune ran the numbers in her head. It would be a pinch, she admitted, and she'd have to push out one of the standard clubs. After a moment, she picked up the debate club proposal, read it over, and put it next to the programming club. Most of the skills seemed to be the same... arguing with a computer was slightly different from arguing with a person, but not too different.

After a moment of hesitation, she nodded and put the debate club in the rejection pile. Certainly nothing too strange could happen from a programming club.

Shizune would be forced to reassess that decision two weeks later, when an AI that Rin wrote started manufacturing centipede-shaped buses.

* * *

**1.15 Masterweaver**

* * *

Dusky Secrets

It had been a while since Hisao had a 'manly picnic.' In fact... huh, he hadn't been invited up by Kenji since he started repeating. Then again, this time around all three of the girls remembered things--well, the three that were always remembering--and the other two seemed pretty well into their things. There was some odd tension about them, something he couldn't quite place, so he decided not to hang around. Maybe Kenji only invited him the first time since he seemed lonely. There was, buried underneath all the paranoia and delusion, a kind soul there.

It was just the paranoia and delusion drove most people away.

Still, getting drunk on the roof was a bad idea. Hisao didn't intend to do so again--and he stayed far away from the edge this time. Kenji... Kenji had drained half the bottle, and was rambling on about some chain of events related to women.

"Kenji," Hisao asked in exasperation, "how did you learn all this?"

"Maaaaan. The things I've seen..."

"Were you really around during the industrial revolution?"

"Yeah, man."

Hisao rolled his eyes. "Really."

"Yeeeees." Kenji grinned. "I'm actually very old. Very old, Hisao."

Hisao leaned away from his drunken breath. "Really," he repeated, in the same flat tone.

Kenji stood up, raising a finger. "Yes, Hisao... for you see!"

He ripped off his shirt and sparkled dramatically.

"I AM A VAMPIRE!"

Hisao stared at him for a moment.

"...A VAMPIRE!"

"No, I got that, but I'm not sure why you ripped off your shirt there."

"It's--my skin sparkles," Kenji explained. "Because I'm a vampire."

"Is... that a reference to something? I've never known a vampire myth about sparkling... although you do have some excellent abs," Hisao admitted. "Not that I'm interested. Just... this just seems like a prank."

"Oh but Hisao," Kenji purred, "there is something about you... about the scent of your blood... it just draws me--"

"Aaaaaand you're drunk-proposing me. Sorry, no, whatever this vampire thing is, I'm not interested." Hisao stood, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to get you back to your bedroom, okay? You sleep off the drunkeness, wash the glitter off your skin, and we'll pretend this never happened."

"Yeeeeeees. The other clans would be upset, if I revealed myself to you..."

"Right. Other clans." Hisao snorted, leading him back down the stairs. "Got it."

* * *

"...so yeah, Kenji tried to convince me he was a vampire. Crazy, right?"

Hanako and Shizune shared a look.

"...Hisao," Lilly said gently, "we are vampires this repeat."

For a moment, the boy was silent.

"Run that by me again."

"We are vampires," Hanako reiterated. "Different clans, all three of us, but... yeah, there is a vampire secret society."

Hisao leaned back. "...do you sparkle?"

"No," Lilly said quickly.

Shizune shook her head. [That's just the Volturi line. I'm a Noctuku vampire, Lilly is Malkavian, and Hanako is Kuufukuji.]

"Okay... and if I asked about Rin and Emi--"

"Mabry and Xaio," Hanako replied. "It's... awkward."

Hisao leaned back. "So... how many of the students are vampires?"

[Around one in ten.]

"Thank you, Shizune. And... Kenji mentioned something about my blood?"

Lilly sighed. "For some reason, your blood smells really good. Frankly the only reason we're not jumping you right now is because there are so many other vampires around and it would cause chaos."

"...Oooooookay." Hisao considered for a moment. "Right. I'm just going to lock myself in my room for the rest of the day, then."

* * *

**1.16 Masterweaver**

* * *

Communication Issues

"Shizune?" Hanako put a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Can we talk?"

Shizune turned around, staring at her flatly.

"Right, sorry. Um..." Hanako lifted her hands. [Talk?]

[Can you understand this?]

[Fast talk,] Hanako replied. [Talk again?]

Shizune rolled her eyes. [I can go get Misha--]

Hanako shook her head quickly. [No Misha! Time time talk!]

[Misha knows about the time repeats.]

[Fast talk, talk again?]

Shizune grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the library.

"He-hey, wait--!" Hanako tried to pull free, but Shizune's grip was iron. "Shizune, this--why am I even talking, you can't hear me--"

Misha glanced up as they entered. "Oh!" [Hello Shizune! I just got finished organizing the club requests.]

Shizune smiled gratefully, putting Hanako into a nearby chair. [Thank you. Can you translate for Hanako? She wants to talk about the time repeats but doesn't know enough sign language to get her point across.]

Misha nodded, her expression growing awkward. "So.... Shizune says you want to talk about the, um, time repeats?"

"Well, yes, but..." Hanako let her hair fall over her eyes. "I didn't really want to, um... involve  _ you. _ It's sort of a personal question for her, and... this would be awkward." She sighed. "Maybe I should wait until I know more sign language--"

"The best way to practice is through learning! Or... learn is through practicing... sorry, I got that backwards. What is it you wanted to ask?"

"...I just... thought... I think, um, Shizune is avoiding Hisao."

Misha inhaled sharply. "Ah."

"Yeah. I thought... we could talk it out. Or... at least she could rant at me and I'd just watch her hands flail about."

"Shizune's feelings on Hisao are... well, kind of complicated. Especially since..."

Misha trailed off, awkwardly.

"...You know we don't blame you--"

"It's weird, knowing that I--that we did that, except that the only person who remembers is Hisao, and... and that I would hurt Shizune like that, and... yeah, I guess... it's just..." Misha sniffed.

[What are you two talking about?] Shizune asked. [Is this trying to figure out how to say what to say?]

Misha bit her lip. [Hanako was... just worried about you.]

[Really? Tell her I'm fine.]

"Look, I'll drop by later and see if I can teach you more sign language," Misha offered. "You're right, this really is a conversation you two should have without intermediaries."

"Thanks, Misha. And... hey, hang in there, okay?"

Misha smiled sadly. "Sure. I... yeah."

Hanako stood, bowing to her--and to Shizune--before walking out the door. Shizune let out a low breath.

[Right. I really want to know what she  _ actually _ said, but I guess it's something incredibly awkward, isn't it?]

[Yes.]

[...That's it, just yes, no qualifiers?]

[Trust me, you don't want qualifiers.]

* * *

**1.17 Skaz Wolfman**

* * *

Home Stretch

Emi woke up, sat up, and stretched out her upper body, yawning mightily. “Wow, I slept like a rock,” she said to herself. “I can’t remember the last time I slept that soundly.” She smiled serenely and glanced to her side. “I guess that probably has something to do with y–eh?”

Aside from herself, her bed was empty.

Emi crossed her arms and huffed. “Let aint that a fine how-do-you-do…eh, he probably didn’t mean anything by it. Probably just woke up early and got super-nervous about getting caught, or something. Can’t imagine why, it’s not like we get surprise inspections, and the only person who ever comes in here is Rin.”

Emi recalled the time Rin had walked in on her and Hisao, and almost fell off her bed laughing.

“Brrr, it’s cold today,” Emi muttered as she put on her legs. She exited her room and entered Rin’s, gently waking her up and helping her with her morning routine, which was her morning routine.

As soon as she was awake, Rin hopped out of bed and went straight over to stare at her calendar. She muttered something under her breath that Emi didn’t quite catch, but she was pretty sure she had heard the word “hundred”.

“Counting the days until graduation?” she asked her artistic amigo. “Cuz you’re a ways off, if you are.”

“We never graduate,” said Rin, “Not really. We keep curling back.”

“Huh?”

“No…no, not ‘curling’, that’s not the right word. ‘Winding’? No, that’s not it either…”

‘Oh no, she’s looking for a word. She could be at this all day.’

“Hey, c’mon Rin, let’s get you ready for the day, I have to meet Hisao for our morning run,” said Emi, bouncing over to Rin’s bureau and opening a drawer.

“Oh, so you remember things too, now,” Rin observed as Emi helped her out of her nightshirt.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean, Ms. Scatterbrained?” asked Emi.

“Don’t know if it means anything,” Rin admitted. “I noticed it happens to all the girls Hisao acts strangely around, eventually, so I think he might be doing it. If he is, I don’t think he knows how, either. ‘Swirling’? Swirls go around and around, but I don’t think that’s right either.”

“Hold on,” said Emi, whirling Rin around to face her. In the process, she got slapped with one of the sleeves of the shirt she had just helped Rin into. “What the hell do you mean by ‘all the girls Hisao acts strangely around’? Strangely how? And which girls?”

Rin blinked at her. “Rewinding? No, no, you can watch something rewind, but this only happens when no one is looking, even if you’re awake.”

“RIN! Focus, please, what other girls has Hisao been acting ‘strangely’ around?” Emi implored.

Rin blinked again. “Uh…me, Lilly Satou, Hanako Ikezawa, Shizune Hakamichi, and you. I wonder if he’s going to do it to anyone else? If he’s the one doing it, that is.”

“Y…you, too?” asked Emi. _‘Oh, calm down!’_ she chided herself, _‘Hisao’s not that kind of guy. This is Rin you’re talking to, she could mean anything.’_

Unbidden, Rin said, “Skipping? Skipping back? No, no, that’s not it either.”

“Okay, and what do you mean by ‘acting strangely’?” Emi asked.

“Like…a bird who wants to go home, but isn’t sure which nest is his, I think,” Rin said in that tone that Emi knew meant she really wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but was trying her best anyways. Still, her heart started to sink with the weight of the implications of the, admittedly possibly half-cocked, analogy.

“You got close to him, didn’t you?” Rin asked her suddenly, her usually unfocused eyes now intensely focused on hers. “Like…really close. Like puzzle pieces fitting…or, trying to fit together, even though it’s hard sometimes. Hisao and I were close like that, once, before I started remembering. Now he’s distant. He’s still around, and he helps me with things, but he’s kind of not there either, and he’s always trying to help everyone else. The other girls, I mean. I think he feels responsible, which is why I wonder if he is…”

Emi looked down. She was trying not to cry, and not doing a great job. Still, she desperately hoped this was just a classic Rin Tezuka misunderstanding, even though the ‘puzzle pieces’ thing sounded pretty damned unmistakable to her. She opened her mouth to ask, or even to beg, for clarification.

Rin spoke first, however, and her voice sounded rough. Emi’s eyes snapped up, and widened at seeing that Rin suddenly looked as distraught as she felt. “I miss him,” Rin admitted. “He’s still here, but he isn’t…I feel bad, because I pushed him away, once, because I didn’t understand…I didn’t understand anything, and it was confusing, and he was confusing, but…we figured things out, and things were working fine, but then everything went backwards and now he’s so distant…I’ve been meaning to ask him about it, but I’m not sure what words to use…and part of me is worried about what he’ll say.”

Emi couldn’t listen anymore. It hurt too much, so her body took over and did what it did most naturally.

She ran.

Twenty minutes later Miki Miura, who was in the middle of brushing her hair, heard a tapping at her door. Strangely, it was coming from near the bottom of the door, like someone was kicking instead of knocking. One of the Student Council girls bringing her a big package, maybe?

Miki opened the door, slightly taken aback by the sight of Rin Tezuka, the armless redhead from the art club that Emi hung out with. She was standing before her wearing nothing but her underwear and a blouse that only had the top two buttons done. Her eyes bore the telling signs of having been through a crying jag recently, but otherwise her expression was as neutral and unfocused as it usually was.

“I know you’re only half as handy as Emi,” Rin opened up, “But I think that still makes you twice as handy as me. And Emi ran away, and I don’t think I should go after her like this.”

* * *

Misha looked up from the construction paper she was cutting to see Hisao slip into the room. He hurried over to Shizune’s desk and nudged her. He started exchanging sign language with her at a rapid pace. Misha had to admit, she was very impressed; she could have sworn he didn’t know JSL earlier today.

[Have you seen Emi or Rin anywhere?] Hisao signed to Shizune. [Emi didn’t run into me earlier, like she usually does, and Rin wasn’t in the art room when I got your supplies, and I haven’t seen either of them anywhere all day!]

[Emi Ibarazaki, from the track team? And Rin Tezuka, the girl that paints the mural for the festival?] Shizune signed back. [No, I haven’t. But why? Wait, are those two part of us? “Your girls” I mean?] Shizune suddenly looked grumpy, and Misha’s eyebrows shot up.

[Shizune, please, I’m worried about them. I know these first few days like the back of my hand; if someone isn’t somewhere at a certain time, it usually means they’ve started remembering, but Hanako and I have already looked all over the school for them and they don’t seem to be anywhere. I’m afraid they might be doing something drastic.]

Shizune made an exaggerated sighing motion, and stood up. [You’re right. I’ll help you look. But the school is too big for one or two people to look for two other students; by the time you find where they were they could be somewhere else. And they could be off-campus at this time, as well.]

[Hanako and Lilly went into town to check The Shanghai and ask around.] Hisao signed.

Shizune turned to Misha, who abruptly stared down at her desk, face burning. Shizune nudged her shoulder. Misha looked back up and blurted out “I wasn’t eavesdropping, Shicchan, honest!”

Shizune raised an eyebrow, and Misha belatedly remembered to sign what she had just said. Shizune just smirked at her and signed, [Sure you weren’t. I’ll explain everything later. For now, go to the office and ask to use the PA to make an announcement: “Emi Ibarazaki and Rin Tezuka are needed for urgent Student Council business, but we can’t seem to find them. Anyone who knows where they have gone should report to the Student Council room.” Once you’ve done that, come back here and wait. If anyone brings you any tips, or if Emi and/or Rin show up themselves, call Hisao. Let me see your phone.]

Shizune entered Hisao’s number in Misha’s contacts and handed it back to her, and they all left the room together.

* * *

Not long after, as the sun was starting to set, Shizune exited the girls’ dormitory building. Hisao was waiting for her, looking impatient. As soon as he saw her he started signing frantically, [Misha called while you were in there, Miki Miura told her she saw Rin this morning. She said Rin mentioned needing to talk to Emi about something.]

[Did she mention a location?] Shizune asked, not understanding why Hisao was so excited. This didn’t seem like much of a lead to her.

[No, but it got me thinking of where Rin might take Emi for a talk, and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner! The tree!]

Having apparently run out of patience, Hisao didn’t explain any further than that. He just ran off, gesturing for Shizune to follow. She bolted after him.

Before they reached the edge of the campus, however, Hisao’s phone rang again.

“They’re both here!” Misha announced.

On their way to the main building, they saw Lilly and Hanako, who had just gotten back from the town. Feeling that the timing was too good to be mere random chance, Hisao urged them to come along.

‘Somehow, it feels like something is coming to a head,’ he thought.

* * *

Rin and Emi were, indeed, waiting for them in the Student Council room. Emi looked upset, Misha looked nervous, and Rin looked…well, like Rin.

“Hisao!” Emi shouted as soon as she saw him, “You two–no, five-timing bastard!”

“It’s not like that!” Hisao, Lilly, and Hanako all said at once.

[Misha, tell Emi that I don’t like it either, but if Hisao’s version of events is to be believed, he isn’t guilty of ever consciously being unfaithful.] Shizune signed to her pink-haired sidekick.

Emi ignored Misha’s secondhand exposition. “Not only have you been messing around with other women, you’ve somehow gotten all of us stuck in a time warp?!” she yelled.

“It’s not really a warp,” Rin spoke up, “More like a…circle…that keeps resetting. Like a broken clock?”

“I can explain…well, not everything. Not much, really, but I can explain some of what’s going on,” said Hisao. “Please, calm down, Emi. I know how–”

“Wait!” Hanako gasped, “How long has Rin been repeating?”

“I…wait, she has?” asked Hisao. He belatedly registered what Rin said a moment ago, and then stared at her. “Rin? How long have you been repeating?”

“I haven’t been repeating,” said Rin, “Things aren’t exactly the same each time. Most things are, and most people are, but you usually aren’t, and sometimes others aren’t, either. Even the one time you acted like you didn’t remember, and you got close to Lilly, that loud guy that lives across the hall from you was really different. He had a stick and said strange words that I’m pretty sure he was making up, and weird things kept happening. He made one of my paintings move.”

“Wait, wait, wait; you remember a time I didn’t remember? I’m the only one who always remembers. How long have you…how many times have you gone back, Rin?” asked Hisao, flabbergasted.

Rin told him. Everyone stared.

“…Hisao…I’ve only–” Lilly started.

“I know,” said Hisao, thunderstruck. “Rin’s been…she must have been the first to start remembering, after me.”

Rin simply shrugged. “If you say so.”

“So? Are you going to explain, then?” Emi asked pointedly.

“I…wish I could explain how or why this is happening,” said Hisao bitterly. “All I know for sure is that one day, it feels like literal centuries ago, I found myself back in that hospital, right after my first heart attack. I remembered different timelines, at least five, and in each one I fell in love with one of you five girls. Everyone here but you, Misha,” he added awkwardly.

“In the one hand, I’m a little insulted, but also relieved that I’m not part of this mess,” Misha admitted, sounding very atypically subdued. “And in the other hand, I feel like I should be freaking out more and calling you all insane…I mean, this is totally crazy, right?”

“Totally fucking crazy,” Hisao agreed wearily. He shuffled over and sagged into a chair, acting as if he had aged decades within seconds, and buried his face in his hands. Emi softened in spite of herself, seeing how stressed he was. The Hisao she knew wasn’t always the most forthcoming person, but he was hardly duplicitous either. He was the kind of guy who naturally leaned towards gentleness, and when he got sharp-tongued you could be sure he was close to his boiling point.

[Misha…] Shizune signed sharply, with a cross expression.

“Oh! Sorry,” Misha yelped before conveying what everyone had said for Shizune’s benefit.

When she was done, Shizune signed [So, Tezuka has been remembering for longer than anyone but Hisao. That’s weird, why didn’t she ever speak up about it?]

“Shicchan wants to know why you haven’t ever said anything to anyone, Rin,” Misha translated.

Rin opened her mouth, but then closed it. She frowned, thoughtfully. Eventually, she said, “I’d rather tell Hisao alone. It’s private.”

With that, Misha immediately stood up and started out of the room. [Misha!] Shizune tried to sign to her, but she was already gone.

“I guess that’s Misha’s way of showing sensitivity,” Hanako remarked, sounding impressed.

“So it would seem she’s more than just the loudest voice in the room,” added Lilly, sounding amused.

Shizune took a step towards Hisao and raised a hand, as if to touch his shoulder, but then stopped. She frowned. Then she prodded his shoulder, and when his sullen face emerged from his hands she signed as quickly as she could, [Not to be a pain in the ass–]

“That’d be new,” Hisao snarked.

[–I can see you’re upset, but Misha just left the room. So I need you to be my ears and voice. What did you just say?]

Hisao chuckled weakly, signing [Don’t worry about it, I was just being an ass.]

Shizune regarded him thoughtfully, and signed [I guess I can’t blame you for that. This nonsense has put a lot of pressure on you.] She stopped, looked deep in intense thought, and continued signing [In hindsight, I haven’t been very helpful in that regard since I started ‘remembering’. I apologize.]

Shizune lowered her hands to her sides and stepped back, signifying she had said her piece. [Thank you, Shizune. That’s a small weight off my chest,] Hisao signed.

Hisao stood up, and walked over to stand in front of Emi. He bowed, deeply. “None of this is my fault, not in any way I can think of…but even so, I’m very sorry I’ve hurt you, Emi. Even unintentionally.”

Emi pouted. “Oh, Hisao…I know you wouldn’t run around behind my back; you worked way too hard to get through to my stubborn ass to be that kind of guy. I just let my emotions run away with me.”

Hisao gave Emi a grateful smile, but she still recognized an inner pain in his eyes. Impulsively, Emi jumped up and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

Hisao returned the hug, and she could feel his need in the way he held her, but she could also feel him holding back. He awkwardly patted her back, and then abruptly, though gently, broke the hug.

Emi looked at the other girls. Shizune was staring at her coldly, Hanako looked upset but trying to hold it in, Rin looked fairly unfazed but also more drawn into herself than usual, and Lilly looked the least upset out of them, but most likely because she was so well-composed. She couldn’t see them hug, but surely hearing their words had given her a good enough impression of what they had just exchanged. Hisao looked around the room, saw how the other girls looked, and he had that miserable, pained look on his face again. This time, without so much as a thin veneer of anger for protection, Emi felt the full weight of his torn expression like a punch to her stomach. Hisao, face flushed, nevertheless did the courtesy of telling Shizune what he and Emi had said to each other. Emi presumed he was also apologizing for the hug, but she was actually wrong; Hisao saw no reason to apologize for a hug he hadn’t initiated.

“Brrr,” Emi said, rubbing her arms. “You could make ice in this room.”

Her remark had the intended effect; Hanako looked scandalized, Lilly’s mouth stopped twitching at the corners and her eyebrows shot up, and Rin…well, she looked more engaged with the rest of the room, now, at least. Hisao chuckled dryly. Then he signed what Emi had said, and Shizune raised an eyebrow. To Emi’s surprise, Shizune smiled at her and gave her a thumb-up, as if to say ‘good one!’

* * *

**1.18 Masterweaver**

* * *

Gotta Go Fast

Emi stared at herself in the mirror.

"...What the actual... just... what? WHAT?! This is, I can't even, just... what?!"

The reflection that glared back at her in baffled fury was... well, not human. The hands were way too big, the body almost nonexistent, and the round head twice as large as it should have been was covered in orange spikes. It was the eyes, though, that really got to her... or was that eye, singular? They seemed to merge above her tiny black nose.

"I mean," she gestured at the mirror, "this doesn't even--I look like some cheap Sonic expy! AND I'M STILL MISSING MY LEGS! What's the point in being some weird cartoon hedgehog if--why am I even a cheap cartoon hedgehog?!"

"Because everyone is a cheap cartoon animal this loop?" Rin offered.

Emi turned to her, only just then noticing the beak on her friend's face. "Oh. Uh. Wow. Um. Yeah. Okay. That's... yeah. A bird... without, uh..." She considered for a moment. "Wait, does this mean Hisao won't wear pants this time around?"

* * *

**1.19 Skaz Wolfman**

* * *

Working Things Out

“So, let me get this straight,” Emi addressed the room again, with Hisao signing her words for Shizune. “For reasons we all can only guess at, everyone in this room keeps bouncing back to the past, to the day we all met Hisao, if what Rin told me is right. Right?”

“Not ‘bouncing’, exactly,” Rin mumbled, shaking her frizzy head. “Bouncing has ‘oomph’; this is more…abrupt?” Rin shrugged, then bounced up and down on the balls of her feet as if to demonstrate her point.

“…riiight. Anyways, if Hisao’s been doing this even longer than Rin, we might all be stuck like this for a very, very long time. Maybe time is broken and things are stuck like this?”

Hisao shivered. “I’ve learned to appreciate Yamaku, but I don’t think any of us want to be stuck here forever.” Shizune rapidly bobbed her head, looking almost nauseous at the concept.

“Rin also said that, except for one time, Hisao has been…aware of the future, I guess? Every time, even though the rest of you aren’t,” Emi continued.

“That’s right,” said Lilly.

“And while Rin has, shockingly, been ‘Aware’ more times than anyone else but me…she still hasn’t been ‘Aware’ nearly as many times as I have,” Hisao added. Again, he looked exhausted just saying this. In spite of themselves, Emi, Shizune, Hanako, and even Rin all exchanged looks of concerns. Lilly aimed a worried look Hisao’s way.

“And, again for reasons none of us have more than wild speculation about…” Emi continued, “Hisao remembers falling in love with all of us, in five separate timelines. If we can believe him, and I assume we all do because while he can certainly be pigheaded, our Hisao is no pig–”

Everyone laughed, in their own way, and the tension in the room loosened a little more.

“–then the first time this happened to him, he remembered all five timelines,” said Emi, “So he never had a chance to pick one of us to be loyal to. From his point of view, we were all First Girl.”

“I mean,” Hisao interjected, “I didn’t get with each of you around the same time in each timeline. So in one sense, I did start going out with some of you sooner than others…but still, the first time I found myself in the past, all five timelines had already happened for me, so…yeah, I’m equally in love with all of you.” He smiled weakly at Emi and said, “Still sure I’m not a greedy little piggy?”

Hisao judiciously decided not to mention the sixth timeline, where he didn’t even survive his first week at Yamaku and thus didn’t get involved with any of them. He tried not to think about it, himself, too much.

Emi sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “And if my memories and what Rin told me she remembers are anything to go by, I’m guessing each of us remembers the timeline where we fell in love with Hisao?”

Nods all around.

“So…now that all of us are together in this absurdity, is…is there a standing arrangement Rin and I should know about? Like…are we…sharing him?” she asked awkwardly, the very question making her feel somewhat uneasy.

No one said anything, at first. Finally, Hanako spoke up. “N-no, no such arrangement exists. We’ve all just…been doing our best not to hurt each other.”

“…oh. So…what do you do when you’re ‘alone’, Hisao? Y’know, all the times no one ‘knows’ anything but you?” Emi asked.

The glassy smile and awkward shrug he gave Emi in reply made her jaw drop. She covered her mouth with one hand. “Oh Hisao. Baby, that is really stupid-sweet of you, but…I mean, that kind of abstinence cannot be healthy for you! I’m surprised you’re not paralyzed from pent-up tension!”

“No kidding,” Lilly muttered darkly.

Emi and Hanako both stared at her. Lilly suddenly blushed furiously and raised a hand to her cheek. “Oh my, I said that aloud, didn’t I? I’m sorry everyone, that was…crude.”

“Uh-uh,” Emi bluntly disagreed, “That was honest. We’re all red-blooded young adults, here. We all have needs. I’m just going to go ahead and assume all of us have memories of sleeping with Hisao. Normally I would exclude Rin from that assumption on the basis that I learned a long time ago not to take anything for granted with her, but I already know from her that even she has ‘intimate recollections’ involving him. Anyone wanna contradict me?”

No one spoke, or moved a muscle.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” said Emi. She folded her arms and continued, “Now, I’m not a hussy and I don’t want to stomp on anyone’s feelings, but I have no intention of going full nun either, and I…I can’t just give up what I have with Hisao, either,” she said passionately. “If you girls’ memories of falling in love with Hisao are anything like mine, I’m pretty sure you all feel the same way about him. This situation is nuts, and totally unfair, but we need to resolve this, immediately. Before one of us fucking explodes.”

Again, no one had anything to say immediately following Emi. By now, the sun had set and it was dark outside. Finally, Shizune started signing, and Hisao translated for her, “You’re not wrong, Ibarazaki, but we’re at an impasse. Lilly, Ikezawa and I, at least, are all disinterested in polyamory, and with Hisao the way he is it would be unfair and even cruel of us to demand he choose one of us. At the same time, despite the distant stance he has taken he’s never shown any interest in forsaking his feelings for any of us, and you were right to think the feeling mutual. There is no obvious solution that doesn’t hurt every one of us with either heartbreak or guilt.”

Emi chewed on that thought. “Well,” she said at length, “If that’s how it is…then, whether we like it or not, the harem set-up is the closest thing we have to a fair solution.”

Predictably, and understandably, no one looked happy with that. Noticing the forlorn look on Hisao’s face, Emi remarked, “Wow, even you, Hisao? Most guys would love to have a harem, that’s why that genre is so popular.”

“I really doubt that, unless most guys are hopelessly gluttonous,” Hisao dryly replied. “The Harem Genre is popular because a lot of guys would love to be that desired. Only a madman, a naïve boy, or an inexhaustible satyromaniac would actually want five girlfriends to spread out his time and energy and…y’know, affections between. Doubly so when the man in question has a weak heart,” Hisao added, tapping his chest significantly.

“…shit, you have a point there. Man, sometimes it really bites that life isn’t more like a cartoon,” Emi muttered.

Once again, silence reigned in the Student Council room. This time, it just stretched on and on, everyone buried deep in his or her own thoughts. After half an hour, Hanako yawned hugely, and then blushed in embarrassment. No one but Emi and Hisao had noticed, but Rin seemed to have nodded off where she was sitting.

“I agree,” said Lilly, “It’s getting late, and it’s obvious none of us are going to figure this out right now. We should reconvene…perhaps not tomorrow, but someday soon. By the end of the week, at least. After Hanako started remembering, Hisao and I agreed that we would wait to see if Shizune, Rin, and Emi started remembering as well, and now that all of us are…well, Emi’s completely right about one thing, at least. We all do need to come to some kind of resolution, or else all of us will be indefinitely miserable and…” she started blushing again, “…cranky.”

“Rin wanted to explain her silence to me privately,” Hisao spoke up. “If it makes everyone feel more comfortable, Shizune can stay to bear witness that nothing happens, I just won’t sign whatever Rin has to say to me.”

Shizune signed, [We have no reason not to trust you, Hisao. And I’m not so voyeuristic as to want to intrude on such a personal exchange.]

Also at the same time, Lilly said “That won’t be necessary, Hisao. We all know you’re trustworthy, and I’m sure Shizune doesn’t want to be an awkward third wheel, anyways.”

Hanako had already staggered drowsily out of the room. Lilly and Shizune followed her lead.

Hisao gave a sudden start when Emi laid her hand on his arm. She smiled up at him, and slowly ran her hand down his arm, saying, “Part of me really wants to spend tonight with you, and…you know, make sure you’re alright, and stuff. I’m not exactly proud of thinking that way, with how things are, but I’m not ashamed to feel that way, either.” Her cheeks were flushed, but not in an embarrassed way, and her eyes were sparkling.

“Emi,” Hisao groaned. She was very close.

Emi sighed, “My mom told me there are times when a woman has to exercise temperance, and I guess this is one of them. Don’t worry, Hisao, I don’t want to make you do anything you’ll regret.”

She wrapped her arms around his ribs and hugged him tightly, and without waiting for him to hug her back she pulled away and started out of the room. “Goodnight, Hisao~”

Hisao spent five minutes catching his breath. _‘I am continually amazed that none of these girls have been the death of me, yet,’_ he thought.

When he was confident he would be able to speak to her in coherent sentences, Hisao walked over and gently nudged Rin. She awoke with a start, and stared owlishly at him. Then she yawned and her face relaxed into its customary deadpan expression. She glanced over her shoulder, out the window, and turned back to Hisao. “Evening, Hisao.”

“Hey, Rin. You said you wanted to explain to me, alone, why you never said anything to any of us, about the time repeats? You obviously noticed that we remembered, as well.”

Rin nodded, and said “Loops.”

“…come again?”

“Time loops,” said Rin. “We aren’t repeating time, because repeats are always the same, but we can be different. We aren’t curling, winding, rewinding, skipping, or bouncing through time. We’re looping through time. I found the word in my sleep.”

Hisao smiled and nodded. “Makes sense. Sleep is a good place to find ideas. That’s why everyone else has gone off to bed. But before we follow their lead…why, Rin?” he asked, kneeling in front of her. “You noticed we were acting differently, but you didn’t say anything to us. The others I can understand; you’ve never really been close to anyone in this school, but Emi and me. And Emi wouldn’t have understood until now…but why didn’t you ever say anything to me? You and I got a lot closer than you and Emi ever were.”

Rin nodded her agreement. “When I wasn’t understanding myself, and nothing I was doing made sense to me, really, I felt like I needed to be with just myself to figure myself out. You were distracting me, so I pushed you out of myself. You were also trying to understand me, but you were getting in the way. I needed to be just me, for a while. So I made you go away…and that hurt you.”

Hisao nodded, and waited for her to continue. Rin could usually figure out what she was saying, if you gave her enough time and quiet.

“You looked…I thought you looked like I had felt, Hisao,” she continued. “You seemed lost. Not like before, like you weren’t sure what to do or what to be, but like you didn’t understand what you were. Like everything around you was confusing you. That’s how it seemed to me, anyways. Maybe I mistook a window for a mirror and saw my old self on you.”

“No,” said Hisao softly, “Confused by myself and everything around me…pretty accurate, so far. Go on, Rin, please.”

Rin swallowed, and said in a more brittle voice, “I hurt you by pushing you out, Hisao. I could see that I had hurt you, but I didn’t know how else to figure me out.”

Hisao felt that familiar annoyance creep up, but pushed it down. Berating Rin for restating things wouldn’t help her get the words out.

“I was afraid you would push me back, too, if I tried to figure you out while you were figuring you out. It hurt you a lot, when I did it to you, so I worried it would hurt me a lot if you did it to me. I figured, when you finally figured out what went wrong, you’d come back to me, like I came back to you. You’d reach out to me, not halfway like you have been, but all the way like you used to. Then I’d know that my Hisao was back, and everything was good again.”

Hisao choked, and tears escaped his eyes, and he pulled Rin into a tight hug. He hugged her tightly, not thinking about anything beyond how much they both needed a hug. For her part, Rin returned the hug the best that she could.

Which meant hugging him with her legs, of course.

Hisao’s brain caught on fire, and he became hyperconscious of exactly where all his limbs were in relation to Rin’s body. He focused all of his willpower on not letting any of his limbs stray in any direction until he could think clearly again. It took him a while, but eventually a rhythmic sound drew him out of his hormonal fugue.

It was the sound of Rin very gently not-quite-snoring against his chest, wherein his heart was beating in an oddly fluttery way. After all these years in the ‘time loops’, Hisao had figured out the unique language of his heart. While it was abnormal, the way his heart was beating right now was not dangerous. Not as long as he refrained from dropping Rin and launching into a vigorous spree of jumping jacks, at least.

Hisao carefully stood up, still holding Rin, and exited the room.

Emi was standing, not right outside, but a few feet away from the door. She smiled at him, and Hisao raised an eyebrow. After a brief staring contest in the softly illuminated hallway, she laughed and said, “Don’t worry, I trust you, Hisao. I hung around in case Rin tried to take advantage of your vulnerability. Ya never can be too sure, with her.”

Hisao chuckled at that. “Since you’re both ‘looping’ with us now, you should try to get to know Rin better. It’s frustrating, no lie, but there’s a lot of Rin to get to know. Totally worth the aggravation.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. And ‘looping’?”

“Rin found the word that I’m sure she’s been looking for all day,” Hisao explained.

“Ahhh. That’s good, then. May as well wake her up and put her down, Romeo,” said Emi with an impish grin. “Cuz I can’t carry her to her room, and something tells me it would be a bad idea for you to try to smuggle her into the girls’ dorms.”

Hisao considered Rin’s peaceful sleep-face, and shook his head at Emi while readjusted his hold. “I’ll take my chances. I don’t like waking up girls if I don’t have to.”

“Suit yourself. C’mon, let’s get her to bed then…you sure you can resist jumping into my bed right next door?” Emi asked with an over-the-shoulder smirk as they made their way through the building.

“Emi Ibarazaki, my restraint is as strong as my heart is fragile,” Hisao replied.

And they made their way through the night.

* * *

**1.20 Tetradrachm**

* * *

Emi’s Day Off

Clack, clack, clack...

Emi was so glad that running was always fun. Everything else was so boring already, and she had only lived through two time repeats! Hisao had lived through dozens, and even Rin had lived through more than anyone besides Hisao.

Didn’t that technically mean they were older than her, now? Like, a lot older?

Emi frowned as she ran, keeping pace even as the confusing, frustrating thoughts kept distracting her. Usually, she could just shrug them off, or learn to make peace with things when she had to. There wasn’t an easy way to make peace with this crazy time repeat stuff, though.

She didn’t have an easy way to help Hisao, either. Rin was surprisingly content now, happy even, and their usual daily routine and camaraderie was better than ever. But Hisao...

Well, she wanted to comfort him personally, and she knew just how she could do that, but he was keeping everybody at a distance. It stung, and she could see how it hurt the others, too. Rin’s few smiles were directed at him, but so were her frowns.

Gah, she was slowing down. Hastily, she rushed back up to pace. She didn’t have much more time to finish her morning jog...she thought. It was easier to pace herself when Hisao was jogging with her—he always kept track of the time—but he wasn’t at Yamaku yet this time around.

And now she was thinking about the frustrating stuff again. It was practically unavoidable here.

Sometimes she just wanted to race off the track and keep on running, to run out of Yamaku altogether and just keep going. She’d idly thought about it even before time had gone crazy, but now it was a serious pull—she was going stir crazy cooped up here with her worries! But of course she couldn’t do that, or else she’d be later for her first class than she usually was and she’d get into serious trouble.

...in this time repeat.

She didn’t stop running, but suddenly her mind was racing as fast as her legs. If she just ran away for the day, and got in trouble, it wouldn’t matter, would it? Time would repeat and no one would remember! Well, they’d remember for the next month or so, maybe longer, but eventually it wouldn’t matter.

It was going to be at least a few months until she had the freedom to go wherever she wanted. She went to the art supply store with Rin, but that was just a few blocks away. What about downtown, or even farther?

She finished her current loop around the track and then just kept on jogging down the path back to the school. She’d make for the front gate and head straight out; this time of day it was open for commuters.

She grinned. It was exciting to do something different like this! Day in and day out cooped up in the same place, with the exact same classes—she needed this! Hisao needed this too, she realized with a pang. Oh well, maybe when he got here they could do it again together!

Oh, and what about Rin? She’d be upset when Emi wasn’t there for lunch. Well, she’d just have to be back by then. She’d get in less trouble that way, too!

She’d just jog around the town for an hour or two, she decided as she passed through the front gate. She’d seen the town center from the roof of the school before, so at least she had an idea of where things were!

* * *

Or at least, she thought she’d had an idea.

She walked around the central square of the town again, utterly confused. None of the shops she’d seen from the roof seemed to be where she’d thought they were. She’d seen them more than once; the cafe was on the right side of the central square, the bookstore was on the left side, and the sportswear store was off a side street!

Or no, wait, wasn’t it on the central square too? She clearly remembered spotting it and talking to Rin about visiting it one lunch...and she also remembered seeing it on the side street, and having the same conversation. What the heck? She stopped altogether, plopping down on a park bench. Was it...was it in a different place each time repeat?

She’d been hoping to get away from the craziness by leaving school, not to make it worse!

She sighed, and glanced at the big clock on the town hall. Was it the town hall? She wasn’t sure. Hell, maybe it was different between time repeats too! It didn’t matter; it said she had twenty minutes till lunch time.

Reluctantly, she got back up and headed towards the school. She was definitely too tired to jog all the way back now. Had she really accomplished anything on this jog? An interesting observation to make to Rin, she guessed. She just didn’t really have time to go do anything that exciting.

Wait, what if she planned, like, a bigger trip? Normally, that would get her in big trouble, but maybe if it was at the very end of a repeat...

She smiled. If she did go somewhere farther, she was totally taking Hisao next time.

* * *

**1.21 Softly Shadowed, QQ Post**

* * *

He can watch

"Sooooo, I'm just going to say it. Orgy."

Hisao sighed. "Emi--"

"I mean you don't necessarily have to be there," Emi assured him. "I just thought given that you're somehow at the center of all this for whatever reason, you'd want a bit of a say on how an orgy would go down."

"Look, I don't know how whatever happened happened, and I don't know why I have multiple timelines of memories from before we started looping where each of you girls only have one, but I'm still pretty sane. Trying to juggle so many relationships--"

"Who said anything about relationships?" Emi put her hands on her hips. "I'm just saying, five hot girls and a cute guy having sexy fun together--it's not something I ever expected to even consider happening, but now it's... like we have to do it at least once, just to see if it would work, how we feel about it, you know?"

Hisao leveled a flat look on her. "Do you really think you could convince everyone?"

"Immediately? Not at all. But..." Emi leaned in, smirking. "Would you stop me if I tried?"

"...I have a heart condition," Hisao pointed out. "I don't think I could keep up even if I wanted to."

"That is... admittedly a serious consideration." The girl tapped her chin thoughtfully. "...what if instead of joining in, we just let you watch?"

Hisao rested his head against a nearby wall, trying to hide his blush. "You're still going to have to try to convince everyone."

"Alright, but just so we're clear: Your objections are that you have a heart condition, and it would be next to impossible to convince everyone to join in."

"And that some people actually have emotional ties to sex, so a one-time bang and then bye can actually hurt."

Emi flinched. "Yeaaaaah. Okay, yeah." She considered the ceiling for a moment. "...Still going to try, though."

"Emi--"

"Loooooong term project. Probably not going to happen any time soon."

Hisao began to rap his head against the wall.

"Hmmm... Hanako would probably be the  _ most _ against it..."

* * *

**1.22 MaracaRin**

* * *

Shocked Pink

At some point in the repeats, Hisao had suggested that the girls attempt to contact him after they remember. He always seemed to have his memories even if the girls didn’t, so it only made sense.

It was always sad, however, having his memories appear without any subsequent calls or messages.

Still, he went through the motions. It had become almost routine at this point: have friends from his “past life” (Hisao internally laughed at the irony) slowly drift away from him, get sent to Yamaku, choose whether or not to introduce himself to his class, and so forth.  Maybe he should do something different this time...?

_ Eh, I’ll consider it later,  _ Hisao thought to himself.  _ First, introduction. _ He started his usual speech.

“Hello! My name is-“

“HICCHAN!”

Everyone’s eyes turned to the interrupting voice. Misha had stood up at her desk, staring and pointing directly at Hisao. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and joy... but laced with a bit of sadness. That would have to be something they talked about. Noticing that the class was focused on the pink-haired loudmouth, Hisao acted quickly, signing to Misha.

[Not now. I will explain after class, I promise. For now, act normal.]

Misha’s eyes widened to greater sizes, more than Hisao ever thought was humanly possible. Then again, Misha tended to defy logic. Hisao briefly worried that Shizune might have seen him signing, but she seemed to be too absorbed in trying to get Misha to sit down to notice anything. Lucky break.

After Misha had sat down, the class had continued as mostly as normal. However, Hisao knew Misha was impatient, and having her wait for an explanation was not ideal.

...Perhaps “explanation” was a bit too strong of a word. Hisao didn’t understand what was going on either, but he could at least try to help her. But first, he needed a time when he could speak with Misha alone.

* * *

It took a while, but eventually the opportunity did come. As soon as Shizune was away and there was no one else in sight, Misha started rambling.

“Hicchan, what’s going on? Why are we back in Yamaku? Why doesn’t Shizune remember you? Why doesn’t anyone remember you? What-"

“Misha, calm down. Breathe.” Hisao tried to comfort the wound-up girl. Her talking slowed, and she grew quiet, looking questioningly at the boy. He spoke slowly.  “What do you remember?”

Misha thought back. “I remember... you had joined the student council, and eventually you and Shicchan started dating, and I told you how I felt about her and I was sad and you guys tried to help me and I just-“

“Okay, okay.” Hisao cut the girl off before she started rambling again. He cleared his throat, then launched his 'explanation.'  “Misha... for some reason, time has been 'looping', or that’s at least what Rin has decided to name it. We don’t know why or how. I was the first one to remember, and also the one who always remembers. In any given 'loop', Lilly, Hanako, and Shizune, Emi, and Rin can remember, but not always. That’s what we know so far.” He looked back at the girl. “I guess you can remember now too.”

Misha took a moment to process, before speaking up.  “Shicchan is looping? That’s...” she looked sullen for a second, before slipping back into a cheerful facade. “That’s great for you two!~”

Hisao cringed. He always hated having to explain this part.

Misha noticed his expression change immediately.  “What’s... what's wrong, Hicchan? Isn’t it great that you get to spend time with her?” the pink girl questioned.

Hisao sighed.  “Well, uh, you see...” the boy struggled to find the right words. “Um, well..., you remember me dating Shizune, right? She remembers that as well. It makes sense that you would remember it. The thing is, the first time there was a loop, I remembered dating Shizune, yes... but also Rin, Emi, Hanako, and Lilly.  Now I know what it sounds like!” Hisao tried to cover for himself as Misha gained an angry expression. “But I swear, it was like there was multiple distinct, yet equally real, sets of memories that appeared at the same time. What’s more, the other girls only remembered the time I spent with them.  So while yes, I am happy to spend time with Shizune, I’m not dating her. I haven’t tried to date any of the girls since I started 'looping'.”

Misha was silent for a second. Then, she put on a flirty look.  “So, why’d you never try to get with me, Hicchan?~” she giggled.

Hisao groaned. “You’ve never been romantically interested in me anyway. Plus...”

“Hicchan?” Misha said worriedly.

“...for every timeline I remember being happy with one of them, there’s one or more timeline where everything is almost the same, but it doesn’t end well. For Shizune... the failure was caused by me taking your offer.”

Misha look confused for a second. “My offer? You mean...” her eyebrows shot up. “When I asked you to comfort me?”

Hisao nodded. “The months after were filled with overwhelming guilt beyond belief. Eventually, it became too much, and everything fell apart.”

There was a momentary silence.

Misha’s mood dropped. “I... caused that?” Her gaze fell, and she wouldn’t look the boy in the eyes.

“No.”

The girl looked up.

“What happened was not your fault," Hisao continued. "I made the choice, the blame is on me.”

“Hicchan, you can’t-“ Misha tried to speak, but was interrupted.

“I have the shame of 7 other failures on my head already. I can deal with it. So don’t have to worry about me. Besides, it seems like we have eternity to get over it, so it won’t be a big deal.”

Misha looked at the boy, concerned.

Hisao didn’t seem to notice, and instead stood up.  “Well, it’s about time we get back to Shizune. You ready, Misha?”

After a second, Misha stood up with a smile on her face.  “Okay!~”

* * *

**1.23 Masterweaver**

* * *

Of Ducks and Death

Lilly took a steadying breath, reaching out to knock on the door. "Rin? Are you in there?"

"Yes." The tone wasn't cold, exactly, just unaffected.

"May I come in?"

"Yes." That same, monotone response.

Lilly opened the door, making a careful sweep with her cane before she stepped in. "I apologize in advance if I knock anything over."

"Nothing to knock."

It wasn't hard to make her way over to Rin. A quick tap confirmed that it was the bed she was sitting on, and she gently, carefully, sat down next to her.

"...So... you've been looping for a while now."

"Yes."

"...Were you... was it the looping version of you that, um, asked me to examine that painting a while back?"

"Yes."

Lilly nodded. "Yes, that would explain it. Rin... Rin, I know that your thoughts are on a different motion than the rest of us. And that's okay, you're you, and that's important. It's just... we're in this looping stuff together. And, even with what's going on with us and Hisao... I can't help but worry about you, and Hanako, and everyone who's looping. I know that difficulties communicating might make you want to avoid the rest of us... I avoided Shizune for the longest time, and even now it's not exactly easy. But we noticed you've been more withdrawn then usual--"

"Hisao noticed."

"...Alright, yes, Hisao's the one that noticed. You can talk to him, you know."

"He's not a rubber duck."

Lilly forced herself not to sigh. "I suppose not. He doesn't really squeak, does he?"

"No." At last, there was a tinge of emotion to the voice, a hint of amusement. "He goes all still, like a cat. Good for... for, cuddling, for talking with. But not for talking problems with. Too much of a helper. Help gets in the way of talking to rubber ducks. Do you help people?"

"I... am the representative of my class," Lilly allowed. "I guess I like feeling... needed."

"Hanako would be a good rubber duck."

"...I guess she would," Lilly replied, having no idea what she was even talking about.

"Listen, hum, think. Let me get through the thinking. I've been trying to use the wall as a rubber duck. Doesn't work. Can't picture the face." Rin paused for a moment. "Do you picture faces, when you hear talking?"

"Not really," Lilly admitted. "People are more voices and presence. How they move. What they usually carry. Details like faces, I... I don't have enough for me to really remember. I can feel them, but it's just... a label, like a name. Like you're Rin, and your face is different from everyone else's, but it's not who you are or part of what you do to me--just there."

"That makes sense. You... understand things differently than everyone around you."

"I suppose I do."

"Have you ever died?"

Lilly turned toward Rin. "What? I..."

"I think I died, last loop." The voice was quiet. "I know it wasn't anywhere near where it was supposed to end. I think I took too many pills. I went to sleep, and when I woke up, it was this loop."

"...Oh." Lilly swallowed. "I... didn't realize that was possible."

"Have we been dying every time?" Rin asked. "Is that what this is? Reincarnation?"

"I don't think so... are you... are you okay, emotionally?"

"I don't know. That's why I need a rubber duck."

Lilly, carefully, she wrapped her arms around Rin.

"...This might be better than a rubber duck," the girl admitted.

* * *

**1.24 Drebom**

* * *

Recommendation for Misha

It was near the start of a new iteration of the time loop. Misha sat with Hisao and Shizune as usual, working on an assignment that she could probably do in her sleep by now. Hisao was the only other one who remembered everything that had been going on this time around.

Misha glanced across the classroom. Hanako was missing. Not unusual, especially considering that the girl was unaware of the time-loop this time around, but…she sighed to herself.

Misha had never been very close to Hanako before all of this. She had tried to get Hanako more involved in class a few times near the start of the school year, but it had quickly become apparent that Misha’s loud personality was anathema to Hanako. She was timid at the best of the times, and combined with her social anxiety, that meant that a girl like Misha was the last person she wanted to interact with.

Nevertheless, it rankled. They had become friends recently, thanks to the whole time-loop thing. And when she did remember, Hanako, though still not the most confident of girls, was far from the nervous wreck that had slipped out of class earlier that morning. She was more able to hold her own in a conversation, less likely to flee from a stranger, and even her stutter seemed to have subsided.

But when a new loop began, Misha would often see all that whiplash right back into the old Hanako. It was a testament to the power of love in a way, as it showed just how much Hisao had helped Hanako. Not to say that he didn’t do what he could to help her now, of course, but things like that took time. And at the start of a repetition with an unaware Hanako, all of that progress would inevitably go up in smoke. Misha didn’t know how he could stand it. Because even for her, it honestly hurt nowadays to see Hanako like that. Now that she knew how much happier Hanako could be,  _ should _ be, it just didn’t seem fair. And because of that, Misha couldn't help but want to do something about it.

“Hey, Hicchan?”

Hisao looked up from the sheet of paper he was working on. “Yeah?”

“Are you okay to work alone with Shicchan for a bit?”

“Yeah, why?”

[Are you going somewhere, Misha? Do you feel sick?]

“Ummm…” Misha scratched her head, offering her friends an awkward smile. “I kinda want to check on Hanachan.”

In perfect synch, Hisao and Shizune’s eyes flicked towards Hanako’s empty chair and back. They could be so similar sometimes.

[This is far from the first time Miss Ikezawa has cut class,] said Shizune, brow furrowed. [She will return in time.]

“Hanako likes to have her space,” added Hisao, “You shouldn’t try and intrude on her if she wants to be alone.” There was an intensity in his eyes that made it clear that this was advice to be taken seriously. Misha held up her hands in placation.

“Okay, Hicchan. I’m just a little worried, that’s all.”

“She’ll be fine, I’m sure of it,” said Hisao confidently. Shizune nodded sharply in agreement.

“Okay…” said Misha. Satisfied, Hisao and Shizune returned to the worksheet. After a few moments, Misha sighed to herself, and picked up her pen as well.

* * *

In time, the bell rang and everybody went for lunch. Hanako hadn’t returned to class that morning. In fact, going off of Misha’s previous experiences of this exact day, she probably wouldn’t be seen in class again until tomorrow. And despite Hisao’s words, Misha found she just couldn’t ignore the feeling that she ought to at least try and do  _ something _ .

“Hey, guys?” she said as they got up to leave the cafeteria, tapping Shizune's arm to get her attention. “You can go ahead without me. I need to go and do something real quick.”

Hisao’s eyes narrowed. “Misha…”

“Wahahaha~. I’ll be careful, Hicchan, I promise.” Her laugh was a bit stilted, but she looked into his eyes, trying to convey how serious she was. After a few moments, Hisao’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine. Okay. Just…I mean, don’t…”

Misha cut off his struggle for words calmly. “I know. See you soon~” With that, she waved her hand in farewell and headed quickly in the direction of the library, leaving Hisao to field Shizune’s pointed questions alone.

Slipping inside the library, she cheerfully greeted Yuuko with a wave, and began browsing the shelves, slowly working her way towards Hanako’s corner.

Soon enough, she spotted her quarry. As casually as she could, Misha moved closer and closer along the shelves. When she reached the end of the row Hanako was sitting in, she made a thoughtful hum, trailing her finger over the books on the self. She could see Hanako tensing in the corner of her eye. Well, no turning back now.

Misha took a deep breath, and without looking away from the books spoke in a quiet, calm tone. “Hey, Hanachan? Have you read any good romance books lately? I’m in the mood for one, but I don’t know what to choose.”

There was silence for a long moment. “U-um…” Misha glanced towards Hanako. The other girl was looking up at her, her eyes peeking out cautiously over the top of her book. Misha gave her a calm smile.  _ Please don’t freak out, please don’t freak out… _

After what seemed like an eternity, Hanako raised a shaky hand and pointed towards the other end of the library. “M-Murukami’s…N-Norwegian Wood w-was…pretty good…”

Misha beamed, resisting the urge to fistpump. “Thanks, Hanachan~!” She spun on her heel, and headed in the direction indicated.

“Y-you’re…welcome…” came the quavery voice behind her.

Misha soon located the book in question with little bit of searching and took it to Yuuko to check out, resolving to make sure Hanako saw her reading it in class the next morning. It was a small thing really, but a bit of positive social interaction like this could only help, right? Maybe she could even try asking for another recommendation in a week or so.

Misha smiled to herself. It looked like she had taken the first step to making a friend.

* * *

**1.25 Tetradrachm**

* * *

Quizzes and Questions

“I’ll give you about thirty minutes to finish the test. Let me know if you have any questions.”

Hisao looked down at the single sheet of paper and frowned. The questions on this placement test, which he sometimes had to take when he arrived at Yamaku, were always different, but by now he knew the principles behind every question like the back of his hand.

He started to scribble in the answers, his mind elsewhere. His ennui was back in full force recently; despite all the time that had passed and despite how everything was different, it somehow felt like nothing had changed. He was still at Yamaku, still had to go through the same thousand little tasks as always, and if he were unlucky enough to be the only one that remembered the time loops he was completely isolated.

He was even isolated when other people did remember, he considered with a sinking feeling. He’d spend time with whoever remembered and do pretty much whatever they wanted to do, from just hanging out to studying to little dates. But it was always at a bit of a distance, always remembering that there were other people that wanted to be with him, to have him. To love him.

And instead, he pushed them all away, just a little bit.

It was almost natural that he’d have the easiest time hanging out with Misha out of anyone, then; she didn’t love him and want so much from him as the others did. She was just a really good friend, by now, and she was just as comfortable not talking about or thinking about either of their love lives as he was. It was a relief.

Last loop he, Misha, and Rin had remembered, and the three of them had worked on Rin’s latest, rather ambitious mural idea. He and Misha had ended up talking a lot as they helped Rin with her project. Misha was so loud and brash and bright, it was easy to chatter away with her and distract himself for a little while. Rin still wasn’t one for lots of talking, he knew, but he still felt guilty that he hadn’t spoken to Rin as much as he could have because of the awkwardness he felt.

Still, now, after decades had passed from an objective perspective!

He just didn’t know what to do about the overwhelming pressure on him when it came to his loves. He adored them all, but he couldn’t handle it when more than one person remembered. He couldn’t “share” his attentions at the same time. It felt wrong, deep in his gut. And worse, he could always feel the hurt of the others when he expressed his love to one, or at least imagined he did. He felt utterly hopeless, and helpless.

He scratched in the last vector, and idly realized he’d finished the test in less than ten minutes. Back near the beginning of the repeats he had really invested in studying, figuring he could learn enough to really get ahead in life when (if?) time finally progressed. Some of the other loopers still did. Now he didn’t really care anymore, but he still found his studies getting easier and easier each loop, and his knowledge increasing.

“Done so soon?” Mutou asked with obvious surprise as Hisao pushed up from his chair.

“I think so,” Hisao said quietly. He was utterly sure so, but he wasn’t about to say that.

Mutou took the sheet and read over it with a bit more interest than usual. “This is...this is all completely correct,” he said with surprise. “You just raced through that without a problem.”

“I guess so...” Wow, he wasn’t doing so great with talking today, was he?

“Ah, if you have a minute,” Mutou nearly tripped over his words, “would you mind just trying a few more questions?” He pulled out a slightly yellowed sheet from under the desk.

Well, this was new. Mutou seemed shocked and impressed by his quick time, so maybe this was a more advanced quiz? Maybe he would put him on a more advanced track in science, or something. Hisao had already read the most advanced textbooks on every subject the library had to offer, but at least tutoring would be a new experience.

“Sure, no problem,” Hisao answered, taking the sheet.

Yikes, these were tough. The three questions on the sheet combined advanced principles he hadn’t studied in at least a few objective years in new and confusing ways. But, well, maybe he could puzzle it out.

It was something new. And with that slightly lifting thought, he dug in.

* * *

**1.26 Masterweaver**

* * *

Hairdo or Do Not

Misha slumped into the chair next to Shizune.

[What's wrong?]

[I cut my hair last night.]

Shizune quirked an eyebrow. [Really? It looks the same as it did yesterday.]

[Yeah, I know. I cut my hair short, went to bed, and when I woke up it was like this.]

[It could be weirder,] Hisao cut in. [There was one loop where you were literally using your hair as a pair of drills in shop class.]

Misha gaped at him. [Don't make things up! I know we're stuck in these repeats but--]

"Ask Hanako, she was there."

Misha rolled her eyes, turning around. "Hanako, was there ever a repeat where my hair was literally drills?"

"Oh, yeah, that one!" Hanako nodded. "That was a weird one. Emi's prosthetics were actual swords, and apparently my scars were in some runic pattern that let me summon and command youkai."

"...you're messing with me."

"Noooope. Strangest thing, Hisao had goat legs."

[What are we talking about?] Shizune asked.

[These two are trying to convince me there are weird repeats.]

Shizune shook her head. [Well, there was that time when my father was an ocean god for some reason...]

* * *

**1.27 Tetradrachm**

* * *

Just Another Checkup

Emi kind of felt bad for the nurse.

First of all, she had to call him “the nurse,” instead of any real name, because it changed every loop! This time around his name was Suzaku Tokugawa, and he liked to crack jokes about being a “health shogun.” He was still the same guy, of course, but his name changed who he was just a little bit. It was weird.

“And you’re sure you haven’t had any aches or pains, or chafing on your legs?” he asked seriously. They were both in his office for one of her daily checkups. “You’ve seriously amped up your schedule, we have to make sure your body can handle it.”

“I’m fine, doc, I promise,” she groaned. She had amped up her running, but that was because her body could take it. Something fishy was going on there—each loop her lap times got just a little bit better, and her endurance improved as well. It was almost like, even though each loop she went back in time, some of the skill and strength she gained from working out regularly carried over.

Just another mystery.

“Well, I’ll be the judge of that,” he said seriously. “And I find you’re not telling the truth...” He bared his teeth. “Off with your head!”

Then they both laughed. It was kind of funny, but it was also weird that it was only funny because she remembered him making jokes like that all the time back when she’d been in PT. Most of her didn’t think of him as the “health shogun,” so it was just weird.

Reluctantly she pulled off her prosthetics and let him examine her legs. They were fine; she knew how to be careful by now, and having him check for what felt like the millionth time was starting to get a little frustrating.

“I guess you’re right,” he said, impressed. “They look fine. I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself now.” He gave a huge grin.

She smiled back, but it was forced. He’d said this to her about a dozen times over the repeats the exact same way. It was frustrating, and sad, because he never changed besides the little things like the name.

She felt like she was growing apart from one of her best friends, and there was nothing she could do about it.

* * *

**1.28 Masterweaver**

* * *

[Katwa Shoujo][Shelter]

Revelation

Rin hummed thoughtfully as she dabbed at her easel, spreading the color of realization through the manifestation of the webwork of relationships which had lately enraptured her thoughts. The central glowing essence latticed outward, grasping gently at five of the six paired sparks that themselves were caught in the strange orbit of the clock-shaped sun. A rotating hourglass moved between the sparks and the star, its shadow moving cross each spark but the central one in unpredictable turn, the lattice distorted by such shade. Each spark was its own unique blend of color, but the colors themselves showed similarity; undirected anger, confused sorrow, treacherous hope, and in the bonds reaching out to each other a relieved happiness. She wished she could paint more bonds, but it seemed distant.

She became aware of somebody watching her, a frail breathing behind her shoulder. Far enough to give space, but close enough to communicate attention. Another interested in the image, aware not to interfere in the process. Her eyes turned to the breather, a dark-haired girl who looked as though she had not eaten in years sitting in a wheelchair; the girl smiled apologetically, backing off slightly as Rin examined her.

Her name... was Rin, if the memories of this loop were to be trusted. Yes, Rin Tezuka and Rin Asunaro, both talented artists, and Nomiya often joked they had an unrecognized rivalry. Their artworks both appeared to be gatherings of subjects without focus; one landscapes of strange and wondrous beauty, one items filtered through unclear interpretation. An odd parallel that had not happened before.

She turned back to her artwork, and considered it for a moment. A few strokes put cracks in the hourglass, shaping the light through it unusually in certain directions. It wasn't quite right, but one of the lessons she'd learned early on was that nothing was ever quite right when it came to art. It was good enough.

Rin turned back to Rin, nodding for her to speak.

"It..." Rin took another frail breath. "It is filled with apprehension, and anticipation. Clocks and hourglasses... the loops can be strange, can't they?"

"Yes," said Rin. "They can be."

"...Mmm. I would have expected an image of Yggdrasil, but that's a metaphor anyway."

Rin tilted her head curiously.

"...Yggdrasil? The world tree supercomputer?" Rin leaned back. "The reason for the loops?"

"I... don't know what that is," Rin admitted.

Rin nodded. "Right... so, just to make sure, are you looping? Going back to a certain point in time, again and again?"

"Yes. That is... sometimes it isn't the same--"

"Yes, that's normal. Um. Are you the only one?"

"No," said Rin.

"Right." Rin considered for a moment. "I need to explain things. Could you find everyone else who's looping and... meet me in the library after school?"

"No," Rin said. "But I can tell Hisao, and he can find everyone." She considered for a moment. "Do you want them in the library too?"

"Yes. Everyone who is looping. I'd rather only explain once."

* * *

Rin Asunaro looked up from her book as she was approached by a collection of girls and one young man. She gave them a nervous smile. "Hello, I... I guess you're the local loopers, huh?"

"Local?" asked the girl whose legs were metal.

"Right, sorry. I, uh, haven't given the welcome speech before... this is my first time." Rin giggled a little. "It's a big one. Oh, before I begin, is there anything I need to know about? Accommodations, or--"

"I am blind and Shizune is deaf," said the tallest girl.

"Shizune?"

The boy cleared his throat. "Right. I'm Hisao Nakai, and these are... uh..."

"I'm Lilly Sautou," said the blind girl, "and this is my friend Hanako Ikezawa." She put a hand on the shoulder of the shy-looking girl with burn scars up her right side.

"Shiina Mikado," the girl with pink hair offered quickly. "Everyone calls me Misha, though. And this is Shizune Hakamichi," she added, gesturing toward the girl with glasses. "I translate for her."

"Emi Ibarazaki," said the girl with metal legs, nodding toward the one without arms. "You already know Rin... and your name is apparently Rin. That's going to get confusing."

"You can call me Rinny," Rin offered.

"Rinny?"

"Yeah, my dad would..." Rin paused for a moment. "Well... you can call me Rinny."

"...Alright." Hisao nodded. "So... Rinny. Misha is fluent in sign language, and the rest of us have... varying degrees of understanding."

"Okay, so... visuals to a minimum." Rinny nodded for a moment, raising her hands. "So... nothing up my sleeves, nothing between my fingers, nowhere for me to hide anything--"

The sudden appearance of her tablet brought varying levels of surprise from her audience.

"Sorry." She couldn't help but give a small smirk. "Had to get my notes."

Hanako tapped Lilly's arm, whispering something in her ear. An explanation, presumably, given how the girl's expression changed.

"Now then..." Rinny settled into her wheelchair, tapping the screen of her tablet. "I think we should start with Yggdrasil. It's... it's like a big computer that's also a tree. And it runs everything. The sun, the stars, microbiology, magic, every universe we know is a program on Yggdrasil, which exists in more dimensions than we can count. Does that make sense?"

The girls (and the guy, why was he even here?) all gave somewhat confused nods.

"Right. So... it's broken."

"Of course it is," Emi muttered.

"Not completely," Rinny assured them. "The administrators--they're, um, people like Thor and Athena and, basically, any pantheon you can name--they're busy fixing what they can. And while they're doing that, they've put the universes into time loops--that way they can keep on existing without putting too much of a drain on the system."

"And we're caught up in these loops," said Misha, watching Shizune flap her hands. "Why us, though?"

Rinny paused. "Wait, did you ask that, or did Shizune ask that?"

"It was Shizune," the girl admitted. "But I'm curious too."

"Well..." Rinny took a moment to refocus. "Right. See, in order for a world to loop, for a loop to run, it has to have a central Anchor point. And as it turns out, souls are pretty good at that. So whenever a new world is activated, somebody is chosen to anchor it. Usually somebody, anyway, there are a few exceptions... but that's not the point. The point is somebody has to remember, for the loop to work, and being alone..."

She shrunk in on herself.

"...being alone is horrible. It... it can really affect a person. Especially if the world seems to have broken... so, um, yeah. One of you, whoever remembers everything, you're the Anchor, and the rest of you, you're... there to support them, emotionally. Keep them mentally stable. Because if they aren't mentally stable, then the loop itself deteriorates."

She glanced up, noticing all the girls turning to look at the one guy.

"...Mental support, huh?"

The boy rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Emi--"

"No, no," the girl with metal legs held up her hands, "it makes a lot of sense. Of course the best way to support a guy is with care and love--"

"Emi!" snapped Lilly. "That's enough. He didn't expect this."

Rinny held up a hand. "Um... what am I missing?"

"Everyone here--"

"Except me," said Misha.

"--except for Misha," the blind girl conceded, "fell in love with Hisao before we started looping. And he remembers all those timelines."

"Ah." Rinny nodded. "That... I think I've heard of situations like that. Hold on, let me check my notes." She tapped her tablet a couple more times. "Right... ah. Here it is. 'Fractured potentiality: due to the damage to the multiverse, some realities have variable baselines, with outcomes based on a few crucial decisions. These realities are generally backed up in the Hub as video games or visual novels--'"

"The hub?"

Rinny nodded to Hanako. "Yes, the hub. It's... like, different universes have different amounts of damage, and the Hub is the one that's so stable it doesn't need to loop. It's like the trunk of the tree, so... well, um... the admins store backups in the Hub files, which inspire the natives to write fiction that matches up with--"

"Wait, wait, wait." Emi held up her hands. "Fiction? There's... a world where all this, all of us, we're just... what, visual novel characters?"

"And where I'm the star of an anime music video," Rinny confirmed. "Here, let me just put your name into the search engine... ah, here's the TVTropes entry. Good to have that stored, Xiaomom was right. 'Katawa Shoujo, translated as  _ Cripple Girls, _ is an English-language Bishoujo Game Visual Novel developed by 4 Leaf Studios using the Ren'Py engine. It's also an eroge, though the explicit content is a small part of the overall game and can be disabled if the player so chooses....'"

She trailed off, looking over the entry. "...oh. Hmm. Well, that's... awkward."

"Holy shit," Emi muttered in flat horror. "We're cripple porn."

Everyone else went silent and stared at her.

Shizune raised an eyebrow and poked Misha, who signed a translation for her. Her jaw dropped, and she immediately cuffed Emi upside the back of the head.

"Ow! Okay, I could have worded that differently,  _ but that's what we are!" _ the runner defended herself. "I'm allowed to freak out at least a  _ little!" _

"Uh..." Rinny looked over the article. "It does say that the game treats you all very respectfully, and, um... oh. Hmm. Misha, I... don't think you're on this list?"

"What?" Misha snapped. "Wait... why am I even offended, I'm gay. Of course I wouldn't be on the list--wait, if Shicchan is on the list, then there are pictures of her--"

Shizune's hands were moving too rapidly to understand, her enraged glare communicating her thoughts much more clearly.

"Oh god..." Lilly swallowed. "That... our private moments..."

Emi tried a weak laugh. "Uh, well, at least we know we can still get people hot to trot, right?" She gestured at Hanako. "I mean, who doesn't love the adorable burn victim?"

A strangled, twisted squeak emerged from her throat.

"Oh. Uh. Shit."

Lilly shook herself, putting a gentle hand on her friend. "It's... it's okay, Hanako. It's... uh... well, okay, it's not okay, but we're all in the same boat?"

Hisao slumped into his seat. "Oh god... is this my fault?"

"No," Rinny said firmly. "Absolutely not. You didn't break the multiverse, and you weren't the one that backed up your world in the hub."

"But I was the one who romanced five different girls across thirteen different timelines."

"Well, it may have been the same soul, but it was repeated across thirteen worlds... I... think." Rinny shrugged. "Temporal soul mechanics aren't my strong suit."

"And now there's a world where--girls, I am so sorry, I never meant for it to--"

"Why is everyone so upset?" Rin asked.

Everyone turned to stare at her.

"...because a bunch of strangers have seen us naked?" Lilly replied hesitantly.

"And we've seen a bunch of strangers naked," Rin replied.

"No, we haven't."

"Well, we're fictional in the hub because our backups are stored on it," Rin pointed out. "So what if our fiction is the result of backups of other universes that are looping?"

"I... think it's not  _ entirely _ how it works," Rinny mused, "but I do know that a lot of what I thought was fictional are actual loops."

"And a lot of what is fictional is used to influence hentai doujinshi," Rin concluded. "So that's a bunch of real people that can be seen naked easily."

Another moment of total silence filled the room as they considered her words.

"...I mean," Rinny mused, "I guess she's not  _ wrong _ ..."

"Oh god." Misha dragged a hand down her face. "I'm never going to look at 'Nanoha on the planet of squid women' the same way again."

Emi blinked at her. "Sorry,  _ what?!" _

"Oh like  _ you _ haven't looked up weird doujinshi!" Misha snapped.

"I've been too busy getting with real people," Emi countered with a smirk.

"Well guess what, it turns out Nanoha is real--and, okay, probably happily married to Fate, which... kind of..." Misha shook her head. "Look, the point is... I don't know what the point is."

"Maybe we should get back to talking about what you need to learn about the loops," Rinny suggested. "Like, how to ping when you Wake up in a new loop, how to generate a subspace pocket... oh, and an important thing. The Anchor can't be allowed to die."

That caught everyone's attention.

"A loop needs an Anchor to run," she explained. "Could be the local one, or a visiting one. But if all the Anchors in a loop die, the loop crashes. Unless it's a loop with a functional afterlife... so, yeah. If Hisao--you are the Anchor, right?"

"I think so..."

"Right, if Hisao dies, loop crashes, and you go on to the next loop. So... don't let that happen." Rinny nodded firmly. "And... wow. This didn't go the way I expected it at all, huh? Maybe, maybe we can talk about it later. Let's say saturday? That's when we can start talking about things."

"Later is good," Hanako managed. "I... I have so much to think about..."

"We all do," Hisao agreed. "Uh... Saturday."

"My place," Lilly offered. "I can tell Akira I'm having a study group."

"Somebody's going to need to take me there," Rinny pointed out. "Muscular atrophy. But that sounds like a plan. I'm going to need to explain a lot of other things..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -One person in a Loop, often the main character, is an Anchor. They are the person who first starts time looping.  
-There is always at least one Anchor present in a given Time Loop snippet, though it may not be the local one.  
-The standard pattern for a loop is that the Anchor (and whoever else is Looping there) come to awareness in a loop at a particular point in the story. From there, events will play out as influenced by the Loopers present, acting with the benefit of their foreknowledge, until either a predetermined end point is reached or all the Loopers have copped it.  
-To be Awake is to be aware of the time loops (that is, to have gone back in time this time.)  
-The Anchor is the only character guaranteed to be Awake. Even after others have started looping, it is mostly random as to whether they will be Awake this particular loop.  
-Crossovers, fusions, and alternate pasts can also take place. It is perfectly possible, for example, to have the characters Awaken into a loop which conforms to a fanfic universe rather than reality.  
-Loops do not have to be in chronological order, but it is strongly preferred that they not require a mutually contradictory order (where A must be before B and B must be before A.)  
-Just about every Looper is very, very stir crazy.
> 
> =-=-=-=-=
> 
> Compiler Commentary
> 
> -1.1: Welcome to the loops, Hisao! You've already got a lot of experience with heart pains, so this should be easy for you!  
-1.2: Welcome to the loops, Rin! I know things are confusing, but don't worry: They're only going to get more confusing!  
-1.3: Welcome to the loops, Lilly! I forsee a lot of incredible things in your future. It's a vision of chaos, let me tell ya.  
-1.4: Artwork is interpretive in every direction.  
-1.5: Shizune would turn out to be an incredible empress.  
-1.6: Seems logical to me.  
-1.7: Yeah, sometimes reality forgets exactly what goes where.  
-1.8: Welcome to the loops, Hanako! Are you ready for the multiverse to leave a mark on you? Of course you are!  
-1.9: It was bound to happen sometime.  
-1.10: Science is the process of assembling observations and making hypothesises.  
-1.11: Art is the process of assembling emotions and making representations.  
-1.12: Hisao is a very confused young man right now. Can you blame him though?  
-1.13: Welcome to the loops, Shizune! Man, will you get some crazy stories to tell, I'm sure everyone will want to hear all about them!  
-1.14: ALL HAIL THE DIGITAL WORM  
-1.15: Just because they're terrifying predators of the night doesn't mean vampires can't suffer from disabilities.  
-1.16: It's always best to know how and when to ask a question, isn't it?  
-1.17: Welcome to the loops, Emi! You're going to get a run for your money when it comes to seeing weird stuff.  
-1.18: WAY PAST COOL!  
-1.19: It really is an awkward situation, but at least Rin is catching on.  
-1.20: A little bit of exploration can't hurt, can it?  
-1.21: This post comes to you curtousy of the Questionable Content Loops thread, wherein snips that are too adult for Spacebattles are posted.  
-1.22: Welcome to the loops, Misha! You're sure to have a central position in all the zany shenanigans going forward!  
-1.23: Yeah, it turns out that dying isn't permanent when time's repeating.  
-1.24: You can't help but be concerned about your friends.  
-1.25: Especially when you're the reason they're all so stressed.  
-1.26: Yeah, sometimes, things just don't make logical sense.  
-1.27: With the world tree damaged, certain details are forgotten. Reality fills them in the best it can.  
-1.28: It's time to welcome the Yamaku Loopers to the greater multiverse. Surely nothing can go wrong.
> 
> =-=-=-=-=
> 
> The Infinite Loops is a multi-setting, multi-author shared multiverse, with contributions from the Spacebattles forums. If you would like to write for the Katawa Shoujo loops, join us at the Indie Games Infinite Loops thread. If you would like to write for other fandoms, check out the Miscellaneous Infinite Loops thread and the Hub Index to see where they might be.


	2. Tentative Relations

**2.1 Masterweaver**

* * *

Consideration

[Katawa Shoujo][Shelter]

"Okay, so..." Rinny looked around the room. "I think I've covered the basics of why this is happening..."

"Yggdrasil, the multiverse..." Hanako blushed. "The Hub... yes..."

"Okay, so now I'm going to teach you Yggdrasil survival 101. First: Anchors must live."

"You mentioned that," Hisao pointed out. "Back in the library, you said if I die--"

"If _we _die. You and me. I'm... a traveling Anchor, so the loop could run if either of us remained alive, but if we both died--or, your next loop, when I'm gone, you died--the loop would crash automatically." She adjusted herself in her wheelchair. "Technically, the rest of you could all die and you'd be back the next loop, but... it's still _ dying, _ still traumatic, so don't do that unless you absolutely need to."

"I don't think we'll ever need to," Rin deadpanned.

Rinny sighed. "I wish you never would. But... there will be twisted loops. Where morality is a myth, where... nightmares roam free and hungry. They won't all just be other universes either, there will be variants of this world. Maybe where..." She shuddered. "Look, the point is, sometimes it's best to skip a loop. It won't be often--and I believe your admin is doing their best to keep you out of it for now--but it will happen."

The girls' faces all fell at that proclamation. Lilly wrung her hands, even as Hanako wrapped an arm around her.

"...Hey." Emi took a breath, rubbing her knees. "Bad things happen. Horrible things. But... after they happen, after they leave their scars--and they can be big scars, on our body and our soul--they're done with, and we can recover."

Shizune heaved a sigh. [Not all bad things are so easy to bounce back from.]

"But bad loops--they won't follow us after the loop ends," Hisao pointed out. "I think... I think that's what Emi's trying to say."

Rinny nodded. "And there are some great loops out there too. Heck, Sailor Moon is one of the original seven loopers!"

Misha gasped. "You've _ met _ Sailor Moon?!"

"Well... no," Rinny admitted. "Not yet, anyway. But I know some girls who have. They're actually the ones who gave the multiverse speech to me--but if I tell you about them _now,_" she cut herself off quickly, "we won't be able to go over what we need to here." She giggled at the visible and audible disappointment that statement produced. "Oh, wow, I can see why people like bringing new loopers into the fold. You're all so eager! Alright, so..." She pulled her tablet out of thin air. "One of the most important abilities a looper can learn is the creation and maintenance of a subspace pocket. Since it's attached to your soul, you can stick anything in there and carry it between the loops..."

* * *

The following month was an oddly sedate whirlwind of events. Rinny had taught them all how to do something she called 'pinging,' which would apparently serve as a quick way for loopers to tell the world they existed. The idea of a subspace pocket had taken them a bit to master; Hanako, surprisingly enough, had managed it first, but the rest followed quickly enough. Rinny assured them that the space in their pockets would grow with time--"My auntie Ruby, she's been looping long enough that she has a whole planet in her Pocket! And I hear the Original Seven collect solar systems!"

And that led into the stories. Rinny loved to pull up pictures on her tablet--and describe them at length, when Lilly was around--talking about the adventures she'd had over the course of her looping existence. Faces, both human and not so human, would often crowd into shots with her on the plastic frame, smiling out at the Yamaku students.

"Wh-what's with them?!" Hanako had asked once, pointing at the greyish-blue girls with baggy eyes and scars whose grins dominated the screen.

"Huh?" Rinny took a moment to process the question. "Oh yeah! They're zombies. Literal zombies. Saki and Sakura--two members of Franchouchou, they're an idol singer group." She considered for a moment. "I guess they would look weird to you, huh?"

"They don't to you?"

Rinny shook her head. "I... kind of don't have an uncanny valley instinct. I spent a lot of my life alone in a simulation, so the ability to judge what a person should and shouldn't look like, I never actually developed that."

Hanako nodded for a moment... but then she frowned. "Alone? What do you mean?"

"I..." Rinny swallowed. "...I'll tell you about my baseline at our next meeting, okay?"

Something in her voice made Hanako hug her tightly. "Okay."

* * *

Rinny took a small sip from her glass. "So... uh... my baseline." She bit her lip. "Well. Standard Earth, standard Japan, maybe a few decades ahead--there was some serious sci-fi tech, well, sci-fi by hub standards, but... not enough." She rubbed her hands together. "When I was... five, I think, the astronomers discovered a planetoid and figured... figured out it was on a collision course for us. It would hit Earth in only a couple of years, and there was nothing anybody could do. So, my dad..."

She wrenched her eyes shut.

"...he was a genius, so he made... it was a rocket, and a single stasis pod. When I was seven, he... I remember hearing on the news about Tokyo's destruction, I think some sort of atmospheric interference thing, and he took me out to the barn, and the other planet was right there in the sky and he hooked me up and... well. I woke up in the simulation."

"Oh my god," Emi murmured.

"He did... leave me three years of simulated messages, but... well, I spent ten years in there. Able to change my environment, to wander around as I grew, but with no company--except the teddy bear." Rinny smiled faintly. "He gave me a teddy bear for christmas... and it was sitting there in the pod with me, and there was a virtual copy... anyway, so, after all that, I didn't get out of Shelter--that's the name of the pod, by the way--I didn't get out. I just... started looping. Again and again, living through that... if I woke up early enough, but a lot of the time I was just in the virtual reality. If the Dokis hadn't looped in, I..."

She shook her head. "Well, anyway, I'm the only viable looper from my home loop, and loneliness... is not good for anyone. Not for me personally, not to keep the universe stable, so the Dokis, they managed to get the admins' attention and got me made into a traveling looper." Rinny chuckled. "You know, I think that's why I've got muscular atrophy here. Because, well, it matches up. Ten years unconscious. It does fit my loop memories--"

Hanako hugged her tightly. She was followed in mere seconds by Lilly and Emi; Misha looked to Shizune quickly, and at her nod joined in the group.

Hisao sighed. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It's not your fault," Rinny mumbled from beneath the embrace of four girls. "It's not anybody's fault--"

"Hush up and let us hug you," Emi demanded, not quite angrily.

Rinny complied with a small smile.

* * *

Rin waited until they had all headed back to the dorms before she followed Rinny to her room.

"I have a question."

"Hmm?"

"Your home got destroyed, but you said your mom told you TVTropes would be useful--"

Rinny blinked. "Oh, I did say that! Oh, sorry. Xiaomom--Yang Xiao Long, she's from a completely different loop. And we met in the Elite: Dangerous loop, which isn't either of our home loops, so..."

Rin tilted her head. "But you call her... mom?"

"Remnant loopers--the loop she's from, they have a habit of adopting other loopers. As siblings, cousins... children..." Rinny shook her head. "I had a look at the Remnant Looper Extended Family Tree, and it was this whole confusing tangle. But... you know, when Yang and her wife decided to adopt me... it felt nice."

"Do loopers do that often? Adopt other loopers?"

"Well... The Remnant loopers take it to an extreme," Rinny admitted, "but it's not unheard of, I don't think. Usually only when the adoptee really needs it."

Rin looked at her for a long while, expressionless. Then, abruptly, she turned away.

* * *

A week later, Emi jogged up to the maple tree that Rin, Hisao, and Hanako were under. "Okay, Rin, I've got Lilly, Shizune, and Misha like you asked. What did you want to talk about?"

"We need to adopt Rinny."

The eyes all stared at her.

She heaved a sigh. "Yamaku academy is about giving people what they need to have the life they want. We may not be staff, but we are its students and loopers. If we want to really say we learned anything here, we have to give people what they really need when they visit."

Hisao nodded. "I... think I agree. I mean, obviously we still need to figure ourselves out, but... I know I got a lot here that I needed."

[That is certainly a good sentiment,] Shizune agreed. [The question I have is how that leads into us adopting Rinny.]

"No, I..." Hanako paused. "I think I can understand where Rin is coming from. When... after..."

She looked down, clinging at her own arm, and took a deep breath.

"...after the fire, I... there was something missing. The people at the orphanage, they... tried their best, but there was just too much for them to do to give me what I needed. It wasn't... well, it wasn't until I met Lilly that..."

Her words trailed off, unable to continue. Lilly gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Okay, so... yeah, I can get where you're coming from," Emi agreed. "But... are any of us really ready to be a mom? I mean besides Lilly."

Rin tilted her head. "We don't all have to be moms for Rinny. She needs a family. We could be sisters. Or aunts. Or cousins." She thought for a moment. "But yes, Lilly is probably best suited to be a mom."

Lilly huffed. "What, just because--?"

"It's kind of true," Hanako murmured.

[You have a maternal air most of us lack,] Shizune pointed out.

"I mean, Hisao also kind of has the mom vibe," Emi mused, "but he hasn't really mastered that."

Hisao frowned. "I thought I'd have a dad vibe."

"Nah, that's Shizune."

Misha burst out laughing, unable to translate for Shizune as she clutched her stomach. Hisao reluctantly translated for her when she gave him a curious look; Shizune adjusted her glasses for a moment or two, before leveling a flat glare at Emi and signing very precisely.

"Um. Well..." Hisao cleared his throat. "Shizune is telling you to go to your room and think about what you just said."

Emi smirked. "And there she goes, proving my point."

"She is!" Misha gasped, wheezing for breath. "She totally is the dadmom! Ha!"

"Bringing things back to Rinny," Lilly interjected as she quickly hid her own grin. "I suppose I'm not opposed to serving that role for her. It's just that she might consider it strange."

"She's been adopted before," Rin pointed out.

"She has?"

"Yes. When she said Xiaomom, she was talking about another looper."

"Oh." Lilly nodded. "I suppose that makes sense."

"So..." Hisao looked around. "We're all agreed? We want to adopt Rinny as... what, a shared daughter?"

"Daughter, sister, niece..." Emi shrugged. "Let's just call her our little girl, and leave the labels vague."

"Not everything needs to be defined," Rin agreed.

"Alright..." Hisao clasped his hands together. "So how do we tell her?"

* * *

"Of course you can adopt me!" Rinny cried happily. "I, I'd love to... I mean, wow! Thank you, I'm just... I'm so happy!"

"Well that was easy," Rin quipped.

"So we won't need the tank pinata?" Misha asked.

[I wasn't even Awake for that!] Shizune groused. [Heck, that was before I started looping!]

"We can still use the tank pinata," Hisao pointed out.

"And the cake?" Lilly asked. "I spent a while on it--"

"Of course the cake. Do we really need a reason to throw a party?"

Rinny gasped. "You were going to throw me a party?!"

"Well... yeah." Hanako rubbed her arm. "I mean, if you're not the party kind of person--"

"No, it's great! I'd love a party... with, uh, with my new family!"

"Great!" Emi clapped her hands together. "Let's get this adoption party started!"

* * *

**2.2 Tetradrachm**

* * *

Communication Breakdown, part 1

[Katawa Shoujo][JJBA: DiU]

07734

Hanako frowned at the numbers that had popped up on her little pager. What did it—oh! She turned it upside down.

hELLO

She smiled, and glanced over at Lilly. The other girl wasn’t facing her, but instead at her desk with a subtle grin. Lilly, her Loop memories told her, had a special pager with Braille buttons and a buzzer to receive messages in Morse code. Quickly Hanako sent the same message back; it always made her day to be reminded how much other people cared about her, so she made sure to return the favor.

This was certainly an odd Loop. It was 1999, but everyone at the school was their usual age. It wasn’t outright magical like some of the first few Variants they’d had, but it was still unusual to have to page people instead of texting them, and computers were really slow and annoying to use.

People spoke and acted differently, too. Everyone was just a bit more rigid and formal, and the clothing people wore out on the street tended to be more conservative. The outfits they wore at Yamaku were the same, of course.

Today was the day Hisao was due to arrive, and she was as excited to see him again as ever. Her spirits lifted when she had the people who cherished her, and that she cherished dearly, nearby. Lilly was Awake, which was even better news. Emi and Rin were Awake as well, which was alright. She still didn’t know Emi very well, and was a bit intimidated by her, but from what she’d seen of Emi she was surprisingly understanding and patient.

She was still a bit grumpy at Rin calling her a toilet ghost, though.

The door opened and Mutou and Hisao entered the raucous classroom. Hanako’s heart leapt as she saw her love; he looked rather more forlorn and shy than usual, though. She hoped he was alright.

“Attention, everyone,” Mutou said. “We have a new addition to our class. Hisao here is from Fukushima, and will be with us through the summer semester and into next year. Please welcome our newest classmate.”

Same speech as always. Hisao fidgeted and seemed incredibly uncomfortable. “So...I’m Hisao Nakai.” He paused. “My hobbies are reading and soccer. I hope to get along well with everyone even though I’m a new student.”

“It’s important that we all do our part to welcome Hisao, here...” Mutou droned.

Hanako frowned. That had been a lot like what Hisao had said when he had first arrived in Baseline. In fact...wasn’t that exactly what he had said?

She glanced at Lilly, who was facing Hisao intently with a focused, concerned expression. It seemed Hisao’s speech had disturbed her, too. Was something wrong with him?

* * *

By unconscious agreement, or maybe it was just shared concern, Lilly and Hanako sidled up to Hisao as soon as the class split into groups.

Hanako boldly reached out and tapped him on the shoulder from where he was talking to Misha and Shizune. He spun around in his seat, clearly not expecting her.

“Hisao,” she asked with worry, “are you alright?”

Instead of smiling, or even showing concern, he seemed confused. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for asking. What’s your name?”

Hanako’s heart fell to the floor. “What—Hisao—you don’t—?”

Lilly cut in, “Just a moment, Hisao,” and carefully swerved Hanako away, arm wrapped around her.

“What’s wrong with him?” Hanako whispered urgently. Her fear for Hisao had spiked, and with it, she felt a hint of that old panic seeping in. Her breathing quickened. “I thought he would always remember!”

Lilly said nothing for a moment, just drawing Hanako into a hug. Hanako accepted it gratefully, and after a moment she already felt slightly better. “Rinny said the Anchor would always be Awake,” Hanako said carefully, not leaving the hug. “He might just Awaken later, but she mentioned that there was an exception if there was a Fused Loop. It’s possible that this is actually some other Loop, and our school and students are just visiting, so to speak.”

“So...so Hisao’s okay, he’s just not here right now, and that’s okay,” Hanako said to comfort herself as much as anything. She pulled away from the hug, but squeezed Lilly’s arm in thanks.

“Exactly,” Lilly said confidently. “It would make sense with all the other strange things going on, like the time period, and...”

“And?” Hanako prompted her.

Lilly looked uncomfortable. “Emi told me there’s been some rumors in the town about...about young women disappearing without a trace, and other strange things happening.” Hanako gasped. “It could be there are other Loopers out in the town—Morioh town, it’s called this Loop.”

“If young women are vanishing, it’s not safe for any of us!” Hanako protested quietly. “No one from Yamaku, right?”

“No...at least, not that I’d heard.”

“Okay, but then we shouldn’t go out looking for trouble, even to look for those Loopers,” Hanako decided. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to any of us. All that stuff Rinny said about more dangerous Loops was...scary, and I don’t want anything awful to happen!”

“We won’t do anything yet,” Lilly promised her. “All four of us Awake can come up with a course of action. If we all stick together, we can get through this. I’m sure.”

Hanako squeezed her arm again, but didn’t feel all that relieved.

* * *

**2.3 Masterweaver**

* * *

Understandings

Rin tilted her head. "Hey Emi?"

"Yeah?"

"What would happen if Lilly tried to paint?"

Emi rolled her eyes. "She wouldn't."

"There were musicians who were deaf," Rin mused as she stuck out a leg.

"Yeah, but they weren't born deaf," Emi pointed out, putting a trouser leg on her. "They remembered sound, so they knew how sound connected--other leg--with their motions. Lilly hasn't ever been able to see, so she wouldn't know how moving a paintbrush affects the paint."

"I suppose... it is outside her understanding." Rin sighed. "I use my art to bridge understandings, from what is in my head to what others see, but... I have an image of what I want to paint for her, what my understanding of her is, but I want it to be able to flow into her understanding."

"...Maybe you could take up music class?" Emi suggested, buttoning up Rin's shirt.

Rin shook her head. "No, music class teaches how to play the instruments. How to repeat what's already written. I'd need to understand an instrument if I wanted to speak with it."

"But that teaching is... is how you learn to understand," Emi pointed out as she finished putting the necktie on her. "Like... learning a new language. You get the basic words, then the grammar... if you took a music class, sure, you'd be mimicking others, but that's just to get a feel for how the music... works."

Rin considered for a moment. "...That makes... sense. Huh. You're usually so hard to understand."

"What, really?"

"No, I'm just messing with you."

"...Ha! That was a good one!" Emi patted her shoulder. "You know I'm going to have to get you back somehow."

"Touch my painting tools and you will incur my wrath for a hundred loops."

"...Ooooookay, no pranks on the paints."

* * *

**2.4 MaracaRin**

* * *

One-Track Mind

“Hisao!”

The boy being addressed turned. He only had a moment to step out of the way before Emi would have slammed full force into him. After she managed to slow down, he sighed.

“You know you can’t that, Emi! Someone could have gotten hurt!” Hisao scolded the girl, who scratched the back of her head. She apologized, then replaced her excited look.

“Come on, come on! I have something for you!” She grabbed Hisao’s hand and tried to run with him in tow. He could do nothing but follow, despite any protests he might have.

When they had arrived at their destination (a random empty classroom), Hisao’s heart was pounding hard.

“Dammit... Emi... you’re... going to... break me...” he panted out between breaths.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t thinking I was just excited I forgot about that I-“

“It’s... fine.” Hisao cut off Emi’s rambling as fast as he could. “Just... let me rest.”

After a short while, Hisao’s heartbeat had stabilized. On the other hand, Emi was still distraught, and it took some time before she was ready to talk about why she had nearly killed him.

“If you’re sure you’re okay...” she started, “...actually, this is kind of what I wanted to talk about anyway.”

Hisao raised an eyebrow. “What about it?”

The runner’s smile finally returned. “Well, your heart was a lot better towards the end of my Baseline route, so to avoid future problems...” she Unpocketed a few sheets of paper. “I tried my best to come up with an exercise schedule for you to follow at the beginning of a Loop!”

Hisao laughed. “I didn’t expect anything less from you, Emi. But thank you, this will help a lot.” He took the papers from her. She was bouncing with excitement.

True enough to her words, the papers scheduled an exercise plan to help his heart be stronger. Hisao was surprised at just how in-depth it was. It included how to ramp up the stress placed as a Loop would continue, when to know when to stop to avoid problems, breaks for rest and hydration and more. And while running was the suggested exercise (obviously), there were also others recommended, like swimming, weight lifting, passiona-

...

Hisao’s eye twitched.

“...Emi?”

“Yes, Hisao?” Emi’s smile was bright and innocent. The papers told otherwise.

“...we talked about this.”

She shrugged. “That part doesn’t just have to be with me. I’d like it if you at least brought me along, but you can do it with any of the girls. Provided they’re Awake and willing, of course.”

“That’s not-“ Hisao started to protest, but then sighed. “Whatever. Other than that, this is more than I could have ever asked for. So thank you.”

Emi smirked. “Well, if you want to repay me...” She leaned in towards him.

“Do you _ ever _ think about anything you else?” Hisao spoke, his voice full of exasperation. He turned away, but Emi could see a blush on his face. She leaned back and laughed.

“Hey, I’ve got a reputation to uphold! I’m just going with it.”

* * *

**2.5 Masterweaver**

* * *

The Paramour Accords

The atmosphere of the bedroom wasn't tense, exactly. There was a simmering of emotions, both positive and negative, but also an awareness of the emotions. The idea that one of them would end up yelling was in the back of everyone's head; nobody wanted to be the first to do it, though. It felt like there _should_ be an air of tension, that there _should_ be glimmers of anger and disgust, and yet... there wasn't. It was uncertain.

"Before anybody says anything," Emi said, "I got everyone something." She started handing out a set of delicate throw pillows. "Asked my mom to make these."

Lilly felt hers warily. "Thank... you?"

"They're stressbags," Emi explained. "Because at some point, one of us is probably going to want to tear into something. So this is for that. I think you can bite into yours, Rin?"

Rin nibbled at the corner of the pillow experimentally. "...this tastes sweet."

"Yeah, I don't know how she made an edible stressbag, but there you go. Also the insides of each bag are cinnamon-scented... crackers for Rin, and charms for everyone else."

[I guess having something to focus our stress on is a good idea,] Shizune mused. [We don't want to do too much damage to Akira's home.]

"Thanks for letting us have this meeting here," Hanako murmured to Lilly.

"It's... the least I could do," Lilly replied. "Being the first one of us to start looping... besides Hisao."

Shizune elbowed Misha, signing something rapidly. After a moment, Misha blinked. "Um... everyone?"

All eyes turned to her.

"Shicchan's suggested that I... well, that I be a neutral party in this. I mean, I'm mostly here to translate for her, but since I don't... have a thing for Hisao--"

"You can tell us if we're going too far," Emi finished, sitting down. "That sounds fair."

A quiet descended in the room.

"...Soooooo," Emi started. "Since I'm the most likely to say something stupid anyway, orgy."

Lilly facepalmed. "Really? We're trying to be serious and--"

"We're an eroge in the hub," Emi countered. "And as Rin pointed out, it's remarkably easy for us to get naked pictures of each other somewhere in the multiverse because of that. We're practically obligated to have at least one orgy, if only to see whether we like it enough to have another."

"I nominate Emi as our designated sexual pervert," Hanako said flatly.

[Seconded,] Shizune agreed. [All in favor?]

Five hands and one foot rose.

[Motion passes, unanimously.]

"I swear to only abuse this power for fun and profit," Emi decreed solemnly, "never to humiliate or traumatize anyone."

"Now that we've got _that_ out of the way," Lilly said dryly, "what exactly is our plan for the... Hisao situation?"

Shizune shook her head. [Meetings like this should never start out with plans. We need to define our _ goals _ first.]

"The stability of our world relies on the stability of Hisao's mind," Rin murmured. "And I know from experience that can be upset if the mind believes it needs something that it cannot receive. Not like wants, not just... sweet things and hugs. But needs."

"Some people need hugs," Hanako pointed out.

"And you all can hug Hisao."

Hanako winced. "I'm sorry, I didn't--I didn't mean it like that. I mean, um..." She rubbed her arm. "...Hisao... treated me with respect. In my timeline, I mean, he... he learned not to coddle me, he made me feel as though I could be... somebody. I needed that."

Lilly frowned, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Different people need different things," Misha suggested. "And you can all provide Hisao different things, emotionally."

"You can too," Emi pointed out.

"What? I'm not--"

"No, I mean, he's been talking with you a lot, specifically because you aren't infatuated with him," Emi explained. "Maybe it's to avoid making the rest of us jealous, sure, but people need friendship as much as they need romantic love."

"If not more so," Lilly murmured.

Misha glanced at the ground. "I... guess you're not wrong..." She remained quiet until Shizune tapped her knee meaningfully. "Oh! Right."

Hanako watched the hands go through rapid motions. "...Unrelated to the Hisao situation, I think it would be helpful if we all took the time to learn sign language."

Rin tilted her head. "I suppose. I don't think I can quite twist my toes into some of those positions."

"Actually, there is a level of facial grammar in most forms of sign language," Lilly said. "I learned that from... well, an Unawake version of Misha. There might be forms of sign language that use feet, I don't know."

"Some forms," Misha confirmed absently. "Small village groups... I can look into that for you, Rin, or we can work together to pidgin out a foot-based sign language."

Rin tilted her head the other way. "...Sometimes I feel like painting something even though I'm painting something else that needs painting."

"...I guess we can talk about this later," Emi agreed. "So... let's not get too tangential here. Hisao."

[It has been established that his mental health is crucial to our existence, both as the Anchor to our world and as our shared paramour,] Shizune pointed out. [Are we agreed that we do not want to cause him distress?]

Most of the other girls nodded, but Hanako frowned for a moment. "...Sometimes it's healthy to... stress out. Sometimes things are so terrible we need to, um, acknowledge them. Or we let them eat away at us."

"...Yeah, she's got a point," Emi agreed. "On the flipside, though, we don't want to overwhelm the guy. And we definitely don't want him to feel like we're.... Like he's the prize to be won and we're fighting over him. That's not fair to him at all."

"That does bring up the question of... us," Lilly admitted. " You brought up the whole concept of sharing before. My first reaction would be 'no he's mine,' but that's not... it's more a reaction I would have for any girl stepping into the relationship--"

"Or guy," Emi pointed out.

"...Or guy, yes. It's a reaction against an anonymous stranger which, if the loops proceed as expected, none of us will be." Lilly let out a breath. "So. What are we to each other?"

[Cousins.]

"I want it on record that Shizune was making a joke," Misha said quickly.

"I got it," Emi assured her. "But yeah, that's a good point. Hmm. Rivals...?"

Rin shook her head. "Rivals want to outmatch each other. How would we even be rivals? Try to give Hisao the 'best' gifts?"

"You're right, 'rivals' is too antagonistic." Emi tapped her fingers together. "Collaborators? I mean, sure, we each want to end up with Hisao, but we also want Hisao to be happy with how things end up and I assume none of us are angry enough with each other to actually want us to suffer, right?"

[I can accept collaborators,] Shizune agreed. [Are there any objections?]

Hanako swallowed. "I... haven't really, um... had people work with me before. I mean, before the loops. I... get what we're aiming for, but--"

"But you've been hurt deeply and trust jealously?" Emi rubbed the plastic around her knee. "I... think I can get you there. Still... like Lilly said, we're all stuck together for the long haul. Do you think you can learn to see us as friends?"

"...I... I'll try."

"Collaboration can be difficult," Rin pointed out. "Each artist has a different vision. A different sense of what the project might be. Each of us are used to thinking of him as 'my Hisao', but the Hisao that each of us fell in love with became part of the Hisao that is, who is himself, and not the one we hoped he would be."

The room fell silent as the words sunk in.

[That is a very valid point,] Shizune finally managed. [So... just to recap: we all want and/or need different things out of our relationship with Hisao, we can all offer him different things he wants and/or needs, we don't want to put too much distress on him with the idea we're fighting over him, although we will try not to hide from actual problems, and we are trying to collaborate on an end result which at the very least ensures nobody suffers.]

"That seems to be where we are now," Lilly agreed.

"And we need to get to know each other," Emi added. "As more than just 'woops we fell for the same guy'."

[That's also a good point.]

"And we need to have an orgy."

[Don't push it.]

Emi smirked. "I _ was _ nominated designated pervert." She chuckled at the series of groans that echoed through the room. "Okay, but... in all seriousness. For me, the sex thing and the love thing are... separate. I, and I realize how bad this is going to sound, I was having sex with Hisao before I ever fell in love with him. The emotional bond was not dependant on the physicality, the two... What I'm saying is, as much as I would like his heart, the idea of him being with others, physically, it's not that big an issue for me."

"I thought you were ready to jump him when you started looping," Hanako pointed out.

"Yeah, but to be real? That was just because he would have--or, rephrase, because I thought he would have been ready to be jumped. Look, if I went out and banged, I dunno, Kenji--"

"That's not going to happen," Lilly deadpanned. "Kenji has _ issues." _

"Right, right, but in theory if that happened, it would just be sex for me. The sex thing, and the love thing... I love Hisao, and I don't mind having sex with him, but they aren't linked in my mind. So... yeah, on that angle, I'm cool. It's the everything else that's bothering me."

"The paintbrush is the link between the mind of the artist and the image on the canvas," Rin mused. "But it is only one link. There's pencils, and markers, and... paint. I like painting, but I sketch as well, and I like seeing other people paint."

She took in the eyes looking at her.

"I'm sorry, I thought painting metaphors would be easier to understand."

"...Your relationship with Hisao is formed of many parts of which sex is one and you don't consider sex to be the most vital part so you're willing to focus on other aspects while other people consider the physical?" Emi suggested.

"That... feels close to what I was saying. Yes. Yes, that's as close to what I meant as I can think of right now."

[So we need to figure out what Hisao means to each of us emotionally, as well as physically.] Shizune nodded. [That's a good first step, I think. As well as... getting to know each other.] She gave Emi a pointed look. [In an emotional and non-orgy-inducing sense.]

"Just doing my job, yer honor."

Shizune rolled her eyes. [Right. As for what _not_ to do... related to not distressing Hisao. I know there are a lot of stories of people trying to get somebody they want to be with to break up with their current partner. That strikes me as vindicative. Can we agree that, no matter how we feel about each other, we aren't going to try to get Hisao to break up with any of us?]

"That presumes that we're all dating Hisao," Lilly pointed out.

"I think our relationships with Hisao were put on_ hold," _ Hanako countered. "When we started looping. So, effectively, we are... all dating him. Sort of. Not as intensely as we were before, because... of everything... but, yes, trying to get Hisao to reject one of us romantically would be a bad call."

"Um..." Misha rose her hand. "Can I interject here? What if one of _ you _ wants to break up with _ him?" _

Emi nodded. "That's a good point. Um... let's say this: Any breakup should be chosen by the members involved without the influence of other individuals. If Hisao wants to break up with one of us, it has to be because of our specific relationship--not because another one of us planted the idea, or he thinks our relationship is putting a strain on another relationship. And if we want to break up with him, it has to be because of our specific relationship--not because we think he'd work better with another one of us and we're getting in the way, or anything cliche like that."

"...that's an... interesting way to put it," Lilly mused. "But I can see the distinction, I suppose..."

"We should... probably have regular meetings too," Hanako added. "When we're all Awake. Because there will be... loops where it's just him and Emi, or him and me, and we might be tempted to... do things, that, um, kind of... put us in a better... or... you know."

[Communication is key to any relationship,] Shizune agreed. [Romantic or otherwise. So... no sabotaging each other, and regularly discuss what has happened?]

A general assent went through the room.

[Right. So right now we need to come to understand each other better, we need to figure out the nature of our individual relationships with Hisao, what we each contribute and receive from said relationships, we will have our relationships with Hisao reliant only on how they affect each of us and not how they affect each other's relationships, we will not attempt to sabotage each other, we will reconvene as regularly as Yggdrasil allows to compare notes, and we are collaborating on a result that will at the least not end in emotional pain for anybody involved.]

"And we will have an orgy at some point."

Shizune leveled a flat look on Emi. [I don't even need Misha to translate to say no.]

"Time is a river that wears even the most jagged rocks smooth," Emi replied philosophically.

[Whatever. The point is, I think we have an acceptable initial agreement. Does anybody have anything to add at this time?]

There was a general course of negatives.

[Alright. Then I believe we have finished the preliminary form of... whatever this is.]

"An accord," Rin said. "Of paramours."

"...The Paramour Accords." Lilly nodded. "It... has an interesting ring to it."

* * *

**2.2 (Con't) Tetradrachm**

* * *

Communication Breakdown, part 2

[Katawa Shoujo][JJBA: DiU]

Another weird Loop.

Emi found them to be more annoying than anything else usually—unless they were hilarious, like those times Misha’s hair made actual drills—but this Variant was a bit creepy. Those girls vanishing couldn’t be anything good, and what about the stranger rumors? The Nurse had told her a strange story this Loop from growing up here as a kid, a hidden alleyway in the town that was supposedly a gateway between life and death, where spirits could remain after their bodies had long gone.

She couldn’t discount it as a silly ghost story, like how he’d made it out—in a Fused Loop, Rinny had said, anything was possible, and strange rumors were true more often than not. So what did that mean? There was a real passageway to another world in a downtown alley? Was that where the girls had vanished?

All of the Awake Loopers had met at lunch after Hanako had paged them, where she and Lilly had shared their disappointing news about Hisao. She missed him already, even if it was just for a single Loop, but the idea of a Fused Loop was seriously exciting. Yeah, it was probably dangerous and definitely creepy, but there could be a whole adventure out there waiting for them! Wasn’t that the point of a lot of Fused Loops?

She’d tried to convince the others of this, but they had all been much more hesitant. Hanako had said she flat-out refused to go off of school grounds and that Emi should do the same. Lilly had suggested that if it was a Fused Loop that the other Loopers would likely track them down. Rin had just stared at her in that way that she did when she thought you were being an idiot. It hadn’t helped that it had turned out to be a Null Loop: they couldn’t access their Pockets with their handy Guides to the Multiverse, meaning they couldn’t use them to ID which Loop they were visiting.

Emi had grudgingly conceded to their decision, because she wasn’t about to go wandering the town alone. Even now on a late afternoon jog, though, she couldn’t help but stare wistfully out at the street beyond the fence. What if there was another world out there, with magic and monsters and excitement? She wouldn’t miss that for the world if she could help it!

She glanced at a car idling along the outside of the fence again, with two men barely visible inside. It had been there the whole time she’d been on her run, and from what she could see they had been having some kind of heated discussion. Now they had both stopped moving, and as she got closer she saw them both more clearly.

They were both watching her.

Fear coiled up in her stomach, and she struggled to not simply run away immediately. She had seen them clearly through their front window as she’d passed, two strange-looking men watching her intently. One had had strange marks crossing his face, like tattoos possibly, and the other had an absolutely bizarre hairdo. It looked like a beaver tail.

But no matter how goofy they looked, they were men waiting outside a school in the evening watching a girl run. There were security cameras out here, right? If they tried to jump the fence and take her, or something, she could probably outrun them, at least.

Before she could do anything, she glanced back at the car and watched one of the front windows lower in a kind of detached terror, revealing the guy with the marks on his face.

And then he pulled his arm out through the window and waved it wildly.

“HEY, ARE YOU A LOOPER?” he bellowed in a deep and gravelly voice.

The man next to him facepalmed. She staggered to a stop in sheer surprise.

Then she laughed and waved back, in spite of her earlier fear, and headed over. Now she had to go and talk to them. If they were lying somehow, the fence would keep them out, right? It was taller than she had thought, she realized when she approached it.

As she jogged closer she could hear the latter man berating the one that had waved.

“Seriously, Okuyasu,” he complained, “you don’t just ask them outright like that! We just end up looking silly if they aren’t, and if they are we look like a buncha amateurs!”

“He was right, though,” Emi announced cheerfully as she stopped in front of them. “I am a Looper! And it’s good you asked me like that, because watching girls inside a school from the outside isn’t something that usually works as a good conversation starter. Or a sign of anything good, really.”

“Yeah...” The man had the decency to look sheepish. “Not our best look. But how else were we gonna find out, you know? It’s a Null Loop, unfortunately.” He had a point. “Anyway, we oughta introduce ourselves. I’m Josuke Higashikata, pleased to meet you, and my overenthusiastic friend is Okuyasu Nijimura.”

Okuyasu laughed boisterously, and Emi waved at them both, grinning brightly. They didn’t seem like bad people, and they definitely weren’t any of the dangerous Loopers Rinny had warned them about.

“So, tell us what’s going on,” Josuke prompted her. “Anything urgent from your home Loop, I mean. You’re the Anchor...?”

“Oh, no,” she shook her head with a smile. “I’m one of our newer Loopers, actually. Let me go get the rest of them that are Awake, alright? They’ll want to hear about this, too! And maybe we could meet at the front gate?”

“Sure, sure...”

* * *

By the time the Yamaku Loopers made it to the front gate Emi was surprised to see another pair of people waiting with them.

The new man was tall and grave, and built like an American football linebacker. He wore a gaudy white suit and matching hat, as flamboyant as the other two, but he somehow pulled it off. He was imposing, and intimidating.

At least, he would have been, if not for the little girl sitting on his shoulders. She was probably about five or six, and had bright green-streaked hair in little pigtails. She was dressed like any little kid, and watched the Yamaku group with open fascination as they approached. She definitely helped make her father(?) look less scary.

He spoke first, unfazed by his daughter shifting around and making faces at them. “Hello, welcome to our Loop. I’m Jotaro Kujo, and while I’m not currently the Anchor, Josuke here seemed to think I’d be better at explaining things than he is.” Josuke rubbed his head and smiled awkwardly. “I take it you are all new Loopers?” Jotaro continued. “I’m sorry to say I haven’t heard of you.”

“Ah, yes,” Emi said, glancing around at the others; they seemed fine with letting her take the lead. “We’re from the Katawa Shoujo Loop! It’s a game, in the Hub? And it’s set at this school, that we all... attend... I’m not doing a great job explaining, am I?”

Jotaro said nothing, impassive, but Okuyasu lit up with realization. “Yo, Josuke,” he said in a sort of half-whisper, “I think it’s an H-game!”

“Oh yeah?” Josuke challenged him. “How do you know that?”

“Uh...well...”

“He’s-he’s right,” Emi said quickly, to spare Okuyasu the embarrassment. “It is an H-game, and that’s alright. We’re all just normal teenagers, doing normal teenager things. Not our fault that weirdos in the Hub think we’re hot, right?” That had been a little defensive, but Emi really did feel that way.

“It doesn’t change anything about who we are,” Lilly agreed. “We’re real people, with real feelings. Not just porn.”

“Uh, that’s fine!” Josuke said hastily. “We wouldn’t judge you for that!” Everybody made gestures or sounds of agreement, except for the little girl who just looked confused and annoyed.

“Daddy, it’s really hot,” the girl complained. “Can we go inside?”

Lilly started. “Is there a child here?” she asked in surprise.

“My daughter, Jolyne,” Jotaro said as he shifted her again. Lilly blushed intensely, probably because she had brought up porn. “Yes, Jolyne,” he addressed her gently, with a small smile, “we can go inside somewhere, just a moment.” He looked up, as stone-faced as before. “Is there somewhere we can talk for a while?”

“It’s summer semester right now,” Emi said with a shrug. “We can all take a few hours off, I think?” No one disagreed. “We could go to a local cafe, or something.”

“Is that...safe?” Hanako asked carefully. “Those reports about young women vanishing, and all...”

All three of the men grimaced. Josuke in particular scowled with obvious anger. “That’s one of the things we need to talk about,” Jotaro said. “If it’s true you all have time, we can go to a local Italian restaurant we trust. Tonio isn’t Awake, unfortunately, but we can speak there in safety.”

This was obviously something more serious than just a few disappearances. This was getting stranger by the minute. Just what kind of Loop was this?

* * *

**2.6 Masterweaver**

* * *

Evolution is a madman

Rin would readily admit her mindset was not quite commonplace amongst her peers, and would even accept the moniker of alien from a few individuals. That her body matched that description now was strange, but presumably just a side effect of being in another universe. She hadn't bothered really investigating her body for an hour or two, more focused on finding other loopers.

Unfortunately for her, space was big. Really big. She could barely believe how vastly, mind-bogglingly huge it was. Even with the limitation of wormgates, there were over a hundred thousand star systems that other loopers could be in, and with no familiarity with the hub backups she couldn't begin to assess where any of the other pings she'd heard could have been--all five of them might have been on the same spaceship, or scattered across the stars, they could all have been native loopers or visiting ones, and she wouldn't even be able to search the internet for any reference to them. So it was she decided, instead, to simply update the profile on her social network with the simple phrase 'Yggdrasil has made me loopy' and hope they could find her.

After that, she fell into herself, examining the form and memories granted by this reality. Apparently, she was a Frellenti named Rinulayawahoojoyehula, which was certainly a name that flowed round her. The long legs she had felt an odd balance, though their strength and the talons they ended in were amicable to her. The stubby flaps that extended from her chest were slightly more flexible than the stumps she had back home, enough to gesture but not enough to grip. What interested her most, though, was her broad head; two eyes set on thick stalks, letting her adjust the depth of her vision, and a tongue twice as long as she was tall, over which she had total control.

Her eyes watched the tip of the tongue as she slithered it about her room, picking up various objects. The hand-brain, akin to smartphones of her own world. A set of paints and brushes, resting near a few abstract works of art. The pillows in her nest, colored as blue as her skin. The mirror on the desk, with which she could see her own toothy grin.

"...Now hith ith in'erething," Rin mused. "Won'er if I lan leep ih afher hith loop..."

* * *

**2.7 Masterweaver**

* * *

Loss and scars

"Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hi."

Hanako exhaled lowly, deliberately tapping her finger on the pagecorner of the book in her hand.

"Oh come on," Emi grumbled, "would you believe I _ don't _ want to talk about sex?"

"No."

"...fair." The runner slumped against a nearby bookshelf. "Okay, but... what if I wanted to talk about something _other_ than sex? Or romance, or... just, you know. Something on my mind."

"You could talk to somebody else about it."

"Yeah, well..." Emi bit her lip. "I don't think anybody else would get it."

Hanako turned the page of her book, not replying.

"...I mean... Lilly was _born_ blind. Shizune was _born_ deaf. Rin... born without arms. Even Hisao--sure he didn't know about his condition until later in life, but..."

Hanako's eyes turned toward the runner, watching as she rubbed her knees. Unconsciously, she gripped her own arm, fidgeting quietly.

"...none of them have... lost anything. Well, okay, Hisao lost... a lot of freedom, but that's metaphorical--no, not the right word. Um. Metaphysical? Whatever, the point is..."

She watched Emi slide down to the floor and stare at the curved metal hidden beneath her socks.

"This. A lot of people think this is the thing that gets me. Not being able to feel anything below... and I mean it used to. But now, it's not something that bothers me often."

"You're lucky," Hanako murmured. "My scars, they... they can dry out. Get itchy, and then... peel. Which has its own risks. I have to spread moisturizer on a third of my body every morning, and if I get too much sun..."

"Yikes. Yeah, I guess..." Emi nodded. "I guess it... it was all over in a moment for me. A big scary moment, and I had to recover in the hospital, but--what I meant was, I... it's not losing my legs that bothers me the most."

Hanako inhaled sharply.

"...sorry. I just thought... you and I, we both--"

"N-no." Hanako took a deep breath. "No, I... I get... why. You'd want to talk about... him and them."

"If... it's too much--"

"It almost is," Hanako admitted. "But... I need to. I know that. And you're right, you... probably get it more than anybody else. It's... it's just..."

She shut her book, trying to steady herself.

"...Emi, you still had your mother. And you were... older, than I was when... I'm not saying you didn't, that you don't have deep emotional scars. I'm... I'm just saying you... that I... it struck me, not just... It's not just that I lost them. Or... or that I could barely move, after... I don't... like being afraid, being... shy, and hesitant, it's not just... it's not me. It's... it's this thing, that wraps around me, sometimes, and I can't move and I know it's because I'm panicking but it's not _me _that's panicking. It's that eight-year-old girl, l-l-listening to her mother scream as s-s-she---"

A gentle finger to her lips cut her off. "Hanako. You're here now. The library. The loops. Focus on this. Okay?"

Slowly, carefully, Hanako forced herself calm. "...right. Sorry. That... what just happened. You... do you get like that?"

"...I have nightmares. The running, it... helps me cope, but... no, I guess I don't have anything as intense as that." Emi sighed, pulling back. "Look... I... damn. Yeah, I guess I'm too casual to... no, I need to take this seriously. Look, I don't know, I'll... try to figure out how we can talk about this without, you know, triggering that."

"You would do that?"

"Yeah. I mean... Look, we're stuck together. All of us, because of these loops. And that means we need to figure out how to... talk to each other."

"Right."

"...Hey, so, honestly? As the so-called 'designated pervert' I'm probably going to flirt at you at some point, BUT!" Emi straightened up, holding her fist to her chest. "I promise it won't be when we're talking about... this sort of thing. Loss, and scars. All one-hundred percent serious heart to heart there. That is a flirt-free zone, you have the Ibarazaki guarantee."

The absolutely serious expression forced a small snicker from Hanako. "The fact you have to clarify that speaks volumes of your character."

"It absolutely does!" Emi giggled. "...but seriously, uh, about that moisturizer. Maybe you should put some in your subspace pocket, you know, in case you end up in another loop where that _ isn't _ a thing."

"Oh. OH! Yeah, that's actually a good idea, I'll... do that tonight."

"Yeah. So... yeah, uh... talk... later, when we're ready?"

Hanako nodded. "That... sounds good. Hey, uh... thanks for actually considering... all of this."

Emi smiled, saluting and walking off.

* * *

**2.8 Masterweaver**

* * *

Transfer Students

[Katawa Shoujo][RWBY]

Misha looked up as a pair of girls stepped into the student council room. "Ah, hello! You're the Yggdrasil Appreciation club applicants, right?"

The busty blonde smirked. "Yep! I know it's a loopy proposition, so I hope you've got something to keep us well anchored."

"That would be me," Hisao said, waving from a chair in the corner. "I'm Nakai Hisao, the anchor of... this world. These three are the ones who are awake this loop--Mikado Shiina, Hakamichi Shizune, and Ibarazaki Emi."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Yang Xiao Long, and this is my wife Blake Belladonna."

"Shizune, Emi..." The dark-haired girl snapped her fingers. "Right, Yuri mentioned this world's backup once. Katawa Shoujo, right? The eroge 4chan made?"

Misha and Hisao flinched. Emi rolled her eyes. "Yep, that's us. Still coming to terms with that."

"What about the other characters? Lilly, Rin, Hanako--?"

"They're all looping," Hisao said quickly, "they're just not Awake this loop."

"Ah. Sensitive issue, gotcha." Blake turned to Shizune, and she started moving her hands with an apologetic smile. {Sorry for leaving you out of the conversation, I didn't recognize this place at first--}

"Let me stop you right there," Misha said, quickly grabbing her wrist. "That's _american_ sign language. Shizune speaks _ japanese _ sign language."

"Oh. Right, that would make sense."

Shizune peered over her glasses with a grin. [The effort is appreciated, but maybe you can stick to having Misha translate.]

"So..." Yang cleared her throat. "Deaf or mute?"

"Deaf," Hisao replied.

"Yeah, we learned sign language because one of our loopers is mute in baseline," Blake admitted.

Misha's brow rose. "Really?"

"You wouldn't like her, she's a recovering sociopath and highly hedonistic."

"So why are the rest of you at this school?" Yang asked.

"Hisao has a heart problem, I lost my legs in a car accident," Emi smirked mischievously, "and Misha's got an aggressive pink parasite eating her skull."

"Heeeeeeeeey!" Misha whined. "I'm here to learn how to help people!"

Yang chuckled. "Well, I think it's pretty obvious why I'm here," she admitted, waving the stump of her right arm. "Hey, uh, so I get a prosthesis in my baseline after I lose my arm, do you guys mind if I grab it from my subspace pocket...?"

"I'm cool with it," Emi said, kicking up her own metal legs.

The blonde pulled a yellow arm out of thin air and attached it, quickly rolling it through a few motions. "I mean, this is kind of a high-end thing--both your world and mine--I didn't want to do that 'hey look my gear's fancier than yours' sort of thing."

Emi rolled her eyes. "My blades are awesome."

"My arm has a built-in shotgun."

Hisao blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Don't worry," Yang assured him, "I've got a license."

"To hunt Grimm," Blake reminded her. "Which don't exist on this world."

"Fair enough, I'll keep the gun packed."

[Putting aside your literal arm cannon...] Shizune nodded toward Blake. [Why are you at Yamaku?]

"Came to meet the local loopers--and to check up on my wife."

The blonde winked mischievously. "She doesn't technically go to school here, so if anybody says anything about a catgirl ninja sneaking into the girl's dorms, you know nothing."

"Yang," Blake said warningly, an amused grin playing on her lips nonetheless.

Emi quirked her eyebrow, looking at the dark-haired girl. "Catgirl ninja?"

"Yep. Speaking of, I think I'm going to return to form now." Blake rubbed her head carefully. "It's always weird looping in without my ears."

"Return to--?" Hisao stared at Blake as she _shifted,_ almost imperceptibly; one moment she was wearing a normal if elegant ensemble for a japanese woman, and the next she bore thigh-high heels atop tight jeans and flaunted a long duster over a crop top with abstract pattern openings.

"There we go," Blake murmured, the cat ears atop her head twitching as if just released. "So much better."

[What just happened?] Shizune asked, although nobody quite noticed.

Yang quirked a brow. "You're all still pretty new to looping, ain'tchya. You've never seen a bonafide catgirl ninja in the flesh before?"

The students shook their heads slowly, Shizune joining in after tapping Misha's arm for a quick translation.

"Well then, look and be amazed!"

"Yang," Blake said with a tone of fond exasperation.

"Observe the elegantly proportioned legs," Yang declared as she gestured like a showman, "perfectly balanced for long jumps and running up unusual angles, attached to an amazing Bellabooty which can endure hours of running. You will also find the dazzling abdomen incredibly flexible, to enable wondrous mid-air feats of acrobatics when in situations of extreme combative nature. Each gracefully crafted arm is attached to the gorgeous torso with a shoulder that can rotate to incredible degrees and ends in a beautiful hand that can grip even the smallest of ledges with astounding strength. The four absolutely adorable ears can pick up and focus on sounds from a great distance, the golden glories that are her eyes are capable of night vision--"

"Do you just love me for my body?"

Yang grinned shamelessly. "No, but it does make up a good fifteen percent of my attraction to you!"

"Wow." Misha couldn't help but giggle. "Yeah, okay, you two are _ definitely _ married."

"Hey, so I noticed you don't have a tail," Emi pointed out. "What's up with that? Did you lose it, or--"

"Quirk of our loop," Blake explained. "Faunus--my people--we all have night vision and one other animal trait. My dad has retractable claws, my sister can change her color like a chameleon, our friend Sun has a monkey tail... My mom's ears are actually a little bigger than mine."

Shizune sighed. [Emi, you can't just ask people why they don't have a tail.]

"Why not? Plenty of people ask me how I lost my legs." Emi shrugged. "I don't see the difference."

Shizune's hands moved, stilled, moved again, stilled, and then finally hit the desk as she glowered hopelessly at her.

Yang sighed. "In all seriousness... faunus oppression _is _a thing, and there are stories of faunus who cut off parts of their body to avoid being noticed. So the tail question is actually kind of..."

"Oh." Emi cringed. "Wow, yeah, that's... I mean, I just thought--"

"It's alright," Blake assured her. "I _am _the first catgirl you've met, a few misunderstandings are to be expected. But, yes, most catgirls across the multiverse have ears and a tail. Just... don't point out if they don't, it can be a very sensitive issue."

"Our life has gotten to a point where we're actually talking about sensitive catgirl issues." Misha slumped in her chair and laughed weakly. "God, we really are an anime."

"No, you're an eroge," Yang corrected. "_ We're _ the anime characters."

"That would explain the outfit," Hisao mused.

"That and the world war literally fought over the right to artistic self-expression eighty years ago in our world," Blake deadpanned.

"Yeah, speaking of." Yang gestured at herself. "The uniform is cute and all, but it's pretty plain and green is _ not _ my color."

[I understand your frustration, but we do have easily affected students here,] Shizune pointed out. [ADHD, social anxiety... the structure of the uniforms helps prevent sensory overload, so switching to another outfit might actually affect other students.]

"Yeah, I figured it was something like that..." The blonde sighed. "Oh well, guess I'll have to grin and bear it."

"We are allowed to switch outfits when we're not in class," Hisao assured her.

"Are you encouraging me to play hooky?"

Hisao groaned at Yang's playful smile. "I didn't say anything of the sort."

"If you do, take me with you."

_ "Emi!" _

"What?" Emi looked at Hisao innocently. "Living through high school over and over is boring! Can't I want a little adventure?"

"Oh I know that feel," Yang agreed, slapping herself into the chair next to her. "You know our baseline starts with us in high school?"

"Well," Blake mused as she leaned against a wall, "I don't know if I'd call Beacon a normal high school."

"It's pretty normal by anime standards. Uniforms, quirky professors, romantic drama, combat lessons to fight the local horde of shadow demons..."

[Yeah, we don't have that last one,] Shizune deadpanned.

"Was that how you lost your arm?" Misha asked. "Fighting one of the shadow demons?"

"Nah, Blake's psychotic ex cut it off."

The room fell dead silent for a moment.

"...holy _shit," _ Emi breathed. "I mean, I want to say yandere, but--"

"No, Adam was a _complete _yandere," Blake agreed. "After I left him he took the first opportunity he could to burn down Beacon and hunt me down, cut off Yang's arm when she jumped in to protect me, and swore to destroy everything I loved. Damn well tried, too--killed the leader of the group we were part of to take over, tried to convince the whole organization that it was for the greater good to become bad, ordered a hit on my parents and attempted to get my adoptive sister to capture me for him, then when all _ that _ backfired he tried to blow everyone including himself up and _ then _ stalked me across a continent until I was alone so he could kill me, telling me it was all my fault." She rubbed her arm. "We, uh... Yang and I had to put him down."

Hisao swallowed. "Wow. I... uh. Wow. Geeze, that.... The most drama I've had to deal with is, uh, the whole split timeline and multiple girlfriend thing."

"Not to sound insensitive--because holy _ fuck _ that was horrifying--but why the hell did you date that guy?!" Emi demanded.

Blake's ears folded back. "I was young and stupid, he was cute and edgy, and we were both members of a group fighting for Faunus rights. There was also a lit-tle bit of 'I know better than you dad!' going on there, so... yeah, turns out my dad was right."

"Shadow monsters, yanderes, racism..." Misha shook her head. "I don't know if I want to visit your world."

"Hey, it's not all bad!" Yang assured her quickly. "Honestly, Adam's about the worst we've got--even the big bad's servants just dropped him for being too murderhappy. And hey, we've got soul-powered self enhancements, personal superpowers, elemental crystals, mechas, airships, robot girls--well only one of those, but plenty of awesome people. Oh, and my sister can freeze Grimm with laser vision, so that's a plus!"

[Really?] Shizune leveled a flat look on her. [You think we'd _ all _ fit in?]

Blake hummed thoughtfully, ears perking. "There isn't really much bigotry outside of the faunus oppression... and the whole mix of nationalism and classism Atlas has going on, but that's really only the upper tiers of their society. Most of our culture has been shaped by trying to survive the Grimm, so people like Emi and Hanako who have physical scars would probably just be respected as survivors."

"Yeah, half of Ironwood's body is metal, and he's considered pretty hot," Yang agreed. "Heck, he's a general. Injuries like ours, most people on Remnant think they're kind of sexy."

Emi grinned, kicking up a blade. "Yeah, these beauts are pretty snazzy, right?"

"I know a guy with shotgun legs. Not looping, but if you ever come to Remnant maybe we can hook you up."

"What about Shicchan?" Misha asked. "Would people be alright with her?"

Blake shrugged. "Well, Fox is blind--he's another student at Beacon--so I don't think sensory disabilities would be dismissed. Heck, the ability to survive with them in our world is actually pretty impressive, given what the Grimm are like. So... yeah, Shizune would probably get a bit of attention as a sort of wonderchild."

[I am quite talented,] Shizune agreed.

"...Honestly," Blake admitted, "things would probably be worst for Hisao and Rin. Getting hurt is a thing that happens, we're prepared for lost limbs and the like, but... if a civilian in the middle of a Grimm attack, and somebody collapses next to them or seems to be in another world entirely, they're probably going to focus more on surviving the attack then they are helping out people likely to die anyway."

Hisao flinched.

"Not that _we'd_ let that happen," Yang said quickly. "We're huntresses, we're trained to save people. And after all the shit we've been through in baseline, keeping an eye on any special-needs visitor would be child's play. Heck, I'm a licensed surgeon now. Went to Cambridge and everything."

Shizune adjusted her glasses. [You went to Cambridge?]

"There's a lot of opportunity in the loops," Blake pointed out. "You may be teenagers at high school _ now, _ but you'll probably loop into worlds where you have a chance to grow up and continue your education."

[Interesting... I know Rinny said the loops were varied, but I suppose I never considered that.]

Blake's ears focused on her. "Rinny?"

"Rin Asunaro," Misha explained. "She's the one who explained the loops to us."

"Oh wow!" Yang grinned. "Small tree! We met her in an Elite Dangerous world."

"Wait..." Emi narrowed her eyes. "Does that make you Xiaomom?"

"And me the momcat," Blake confirmed. "Those of us from Remnant have a minor habit of adopting people. Our family tree is... really complicated."

"I can understand why you'd adopt Rin," Hisao admitted. "After she explained her situation, we just... well, sure, we were still learning loop stuff, but she became like a shared child for us."

Yang's eyes grew misty. "Awwww, my little girl is all grown up and collecting moms from across the multiverse!"

"Hey!" Emi snapped with a grin. "I'm a cool big sister, thank you!"

[And Misha was more of an aunt.]

Misha nodded. "Yeah... but you, Shizune, you were definitely one of her moms."

Shizune adjusted her glasses and huffed.

Emi grinned at the visiting loopers. "So how'd you meet Rinny?"

"It was a sci-fi loop," Blake began. "Galactic trade and exploration. We were out of explored space when we caught a distress signal..."

* * *

**2.2 (Con't) Tetradrachm**

* * *

Communication Breakdown, part 3

[Katawa Shoujo][JJBA: DiU]

Jotaro and Josuke had split the girls up between their two cars. Lilly and Hanako had gone with Jotaro and Jolyne, while Emi and Rin had wound up with Josuke and Okuyasu.

Emi didn’t really mind. She’d thought they were creepy before, but really they just seemed like a pair of goofballs. They’d gotten into an impromptu wrestling match on their way to the car! This might not have quite been the adventure she’d been imagining as her first Fused Loop—yet—but it was still plenty interesting. It was a serious relief from the repetitive boredom the last few Loops had been.

Emi glanced over at Rin as they both got into the car and she helped Rin get her seatbelt on. She seemed as detached as ever, taking everything in so far with barely a response. It could have been that Hisao’s absence was getting to her.

As Emi pulled back from buckling her in, though, Rin flashed her a slight smirk. “So you were out on the track when you met these two, right?”

“Yes...?” Emi answered. Was she trying to imply something about her history with guys on the track, or something?

“I’d been meaning to ask you what it’s like, running in the nineties,” Rin said without a hint of inflection.

Emi gaped at Rin as her smile widened, and then the two guys burst into laughter. “I was worried about you, Rin!” Emi protested. “I thought you were having a hard time with all this! Instead you were just planning to pun at me? Why are you like this?”

“I was waiting for the right audience,” Rin explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“You, I like you,” Josuke said with a huge grin. “What’s your name again?”

“Rin,” she answered, and then turned to look out the window, suddenly disinterested.

Josuke’s smile slipped. “Was it something I said?”

“No, no,” Emi assured him, “that’s just Rin for you.” Rin didn’t elaborate, so after an awkward pause Emi continued, “So, since we’re in a private car and all, can you tell us what’s up with this town now? Or should we wait till we reach the restaurant?”

“Well, it won’t take us long to get there, but I’ll start. Better do my duty as Anchor, and all... can’t believe Jotaro called me out like that...” he trailed off with a mumble. “It’s... phew... a long story. First off, I’m guessing you come from a pretty mundane Loop, right? Nothing supernatural, the laws of physics and reality work like they’re supposed to, stuff like that?”

“Are you saying they don’t work here?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Sometimes. There’s a lot, I mean a lot, of supernatural stuff in our Loop. The most relevant thing is, I guess, Stands. They’re manifestations of your soul, or your fighting spirit is another way of putting it, and they’re unique to the User. I have one, Okuyasu has one, Jotaro has one, hell, half this town have them...but the problem is that there’s a serial killer in this town, and he has a very dangerous one.”

It felt like ice shot through her veins. “I was... hoping all those women had just been kidnapped, or something.”

“No, this is our main problem every Loop,” Josuke explained. “But this time, everything’s come together to screw us over. See, in Baseline the killer is a man named Yoshikage Kira. Blonde hair, dapper suits, can’t miss him. But the Tree likes messing with us, so about half the time his identity gets all scrambled around—his name, his appearance, everything is different. Then, because this Loop we don’t have access to our Pockets and all the things we have in them to track him down, we have to play ordinary detective to track down a man whose Stand power can turn anything he wants into a bomb!”

“Even a painting?” Rin asked out of nowhere. “A painting wouldn’t make a very good bomb.”

“I guess...” Josuke scratched his chin in thought. “But he usually doesn’t start blowing other things up until he feels threatened. He just—finds women alone, turns them into a bomb, and then explodes them without a trace. Except for their hands,” he added like an afterthought. “He’s got a fetish for hands, he takes them with him after his murders.”

“Guess I’m safe,” Rin quipped.

“But... so... what do we about this guy? How do we track him down?” Emi asked urgently. And if she had included herself in that “we,” maybe it was on purpose. She wanted in on a real-life murder mystery!

“My, uh, father Joseph has a Stand ability that can give us clues to the guy’s identity and location, but it’s pretty inconsistent. He isn’t Awake this Loop, either, and when he’s Unawake he’s nearly senile. So he’s no use.” He suddenly smirked. “We aren’t half bad detectives, though, Okuyasu and I. We’ve had a few Loops where we honed our skills.”

“He was Batman once, and I was Robin!” Okuyasu explained cheerfully. “Josuke, remember when I used The Hand to erase Poison Ivy’s death plant, and you caught her without having to fight?”

“That was because you wiped out a chunk of her arm with your Stand,” Josuke said dryly. “She was blind with pain when I got her.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, Josuke...”

“Is casual violence just a regular thing here?” Emi asked a little too brightly. “Really sounds like it.”

“Honestly? Kind of,” Josuke said. “Our Baseline has us fight almost all of the Stand Users in Morioh, including each other. Stand Users are kind of drawn to one another, and more often than not they end up fighting.” He shrugged. “It is what it is.”

Josuke pulled into a parking lot and stopped at the first available spot. “But see, the reason we didn’t want to talk about this stuff in public is that the killer could be any random bystander. If they happened to overhear us, it could make things a whole lot worse.”

They were all quiet as they headed into the restaurant, a fine Italian trattoria by the looks of it. Jotaro’s group was already seated at a long table with another new pair of people: a very short young man with white hair and a tall lady with an arm wrapped around him protectively. Lilly was busy cheerfully explaining their Looping situation to the Morioh natives and Hanako watched at the other end of the table.

“Koichi!” Josuke cried. “We were worried about you! Everything go alright?”

“Oh! Hey, yeah,” the white haired guy said, bobbing his head, “Yukako Woke Up right while I was there visiting. So we’re fine, now.” The woman, Yukako, nodded and hugged him tighter.

“Fine, now?” Josuke asked as they all sat down.

“Well, Yukako hedged, “I might have possibly been strangling Koichi with Love Deluxe when I Woke Up. And not in the good way, either,” she said with a wink at Koichi, who blushed.

“Love Deluxe?” Emi grinned wickedly. “I can’t say I’ve heard of that before, but if I’m getting the subtext here—“

“It’s my Stand,” Yukako cut in with a snarl. “I don’t know what you think you’re implying.”

“You literally just implied the same thing a minute ago,” Josuke pointed out.

“Shut up!” she roared, slamming her hands onto the table, and her hair suddenly seemed to explode off of her head, massive strands of it growing instantly across the table, brushing against everyone seated, and all around the cafe. All of the Yamaku girls flinched back in horror, but the Morioh Loopers looked more annoyed than anything else.

“Yukako, please, calm down!” Koichi pleaded.

She rolled her eyes, and the hair just as quickly receded into her head. “I promise, sweet, I wasn’t going to hurt anyone. That,” she said with a triumphant look at Emi, “is Love Deluxe.”

“That’s a Stand?” Emi couldn’t believe it. “I thought we couldn’t see them!” Lilly was patting around herself, confused, and Hanako was staring at Yukako like she was an alien. Even Rin seemed a little shaken.

“Yukako, please don’t do that again,” Jotaro rumbled from his far seat. “While we can trust Tonio, and no one else is currently here, someone might see the activity out the windows.”

“You are too paranoid,” she snapped. “And how do we know we can trust the Italian? It could be a Variant!”

Jotaro sighed. “He has an alibi for the latest disappearance, as do a few others we’ve checked. It wasn’t your brother, Okuyasu?”

Okuyasu shook his head. “No, Keicho is fine this Loop!”

“W-what’s going on?” Hanako finally asked. “How did your hair grow like that?”

Clearly Jotaro hadn’t explained Stands to the other car. Quickly, he launched into an explanation not dissimilar from Josuke’s, then explained that he’d use a personal example.

“My own Stand is called Star Platinum.” He paused briefly. “I summoned it just now, floating behind me. I assume none of you can see it?”

Everyone from Yamaku shook their heads—except for Lilly, who pursed her lips.

Jotaro noticed. “Oh. My apologies.”

“It’s alright,” Lilly waved him off.

“My Stand is simple, so far as Stands go. It can punch things. Very hard.” His lip twitched, almost a smile, and then tossed a pebble into the air.

It exploded into dust as it hit the peak of its arc that shot outward, as if struck by tremendous force. Everyone flinched, even the native Loopers.

“It has another ability as well—it can stop time,” Jotaro continued. “In Baseline, it can only last for a few seconds, and exerts a severe strain on my body. I’ve gotten a better hand on it now—“

One instant he was seated at the table, the next he was standing on the other side of the room, taking a deep breath. “—but it’s still a troublesome ability.”

“That is so awesome,” Emi breathed out. Hanako nodded hesitantly, eyes wide, and Lilly turned to face where Jotaro’s voice came from, clapping appreciatively.

Now it was Rin who looked like she’d seen an alien.

“So...if we could see your Stand,” Hanako asked timidly, “what would it look like?”

Jotaro considered this, and then with a frown started to scribble onto one of the napkins set at the table.

“It’ll take him a while to get all the details down, he’s got photographic memory for drawing,” Josuke commented, drawing Emi’s attention away from Jotaro and the other end of the table. “He’d probably have a better time just describing what it looks like: a big, buff purple dude, with shaggy black hair, that’s about two and a half feet taller than Jotaro, I’d say.”

“They look like people?” Emi asked. “I assumed from Yukako’s Stand that they were more abstract.” Rin leaned into their conversation, more intent than usual.

“They can look like a lot of things,” Josuke said with a laugh. “This one guy in town, his Stand is a transmission tower. You know, one of those big towers that holds up electrical cables? Really. But a lot of them do look humanoid. My Stand, Crazy Diamond, is a huge pink-and-blue dude that looks like he’s wearing armor. Pretty awesome look, if you ask me.”

“I’d...really like to see what they look like,” Rin said seriously. “They sound intriguing.”

That was the most interest Rin had expressed in anything not named Hisao in a while.

“Well, you might just be in luck,” Josuke told her. “Another acquaintance of ours, Rohan Kishibe, is a mangaka. A damned good one, too. He isn’t Awake, but he really likes Koichi for some reason. Koichi could probably get him to make some illustrations of them for you.”

Rin leaned back and nodded, smiling. “I’d like that. I have an idea for a mural.”

“And you?” Josuke looked to Emi. “What do you want to do this Loop? Anything?”

“It’s great so far!” she laughed. “Just...being here, learning new things and meeting new people! You have no idea how boring our Loop can get! But...well...” She turned on her trademarked Emi Pout. “It would be even better if I could come along while you guys tracked down the murderer...”

Josuke blushed—a good sign—but waved her off. “It really won’t take more than a few days, even with our problems this Loop. After this meal, we’ll split up and canvass the city for clues. You could all probably come along for that. Thing is, the Loop lasts the whole summer, and we’ll almost definitely get this creep locked up before then. There’s a lot of things to do in our Loop once that’s over. Hm. Well, what do you for fun?”

“Running, mostly. A morning jog every day, an evening jog sometimes...ever since I was little, it’s made me happy,” she admitted with a smile. “Not like that’s an exciting goal for awesome Loop adventures, though. It’s just...something important to me, like something I’m always willing to put the extra work into. The extra mile,” she finished with a giggle. She didn’t mention her other favorite thing to do; Hisao wasn’t Awake, after all.

Josuke regarded her intently. “That takes a lot of willpower, to have the discipline to keep something like that up,” he said. “I wonder...”

Something rang under the table. Josuke perked up, reached down, and dragged an absolutely massive brick of a cell phone up to the tabletop.

“What is that thing?” Emi asked in a kind of fascinated horror.

Josuke pushed a button and grinned over at her. “State of the art, for 1999. Yo, Joseph!”

“Eh? That you, Jotaro?” An undeniably old voice creaked through the phone, surprisingly loud. He had a heavy accent; English, maybe?

Josuke rolled his eyes. “No, Joseph, it’s Jo-su-ke Hi-ga-shi-ka-ta,” he carefully enunciated. “You know, your son?”

“Higashikata?” Joseph repeated in horror. “Right... don’t tell Suzie, please!”

“I won’t, Joseph,” Josuke said patiently. “What’d you call for?”

“Good, good. Uh, those photos you asked for, from Hermit Purple, I have them here. I can, uh, use that newfangled fax machine to get them to you, right?”

“Yes, Joseph,” Josuke said. He glanced over to Emi again. “Hermit Purple is his Stand.” Emi nodded uncertainly.

“Would you mind staying on the line while I send them through?” Joseph asked. “This new technology always goes wrong when I use it...”

Josuke sighed over dramatically. “Sure, Joseph.” He shook his head with a wistful expression. “It’s kind of a shame,” he said to Emi, phone still held up to his face. “You sound like the type of person that might be able to learn Hamon. It’s this special spiritual martial arts style that Joseph used when he was younger. If he was Awake he might be able to teach you—it’s really awesome, you’d like it—but, well, I doubt Unawake him could really—“

“Wait a moment!” Joseph suddenly barked through the phone, sounding completely lucid and in perfectly fluent Japanese. “There’s a new Looper in Morioh that might be able to learn Hamon? Ha, I’m on my way!” The phone disconnected with a click.

Josuke stared off into space, phone still up to his ear and wearing an expression of total shock. Then the shock turned to fury, and he shoved up from his chair and dropped the phone to the table. “He was pretending to not be Awake!” he shouted, fists clenched. “He was going to force us to deal with him pretending to be a doddering old man for months! That son of a—"

* * *

**2.9 MaracaRin**

* * *

Showing Some Skin

[Hanako’s a cheerleader this Loop.]

Hisao was startled by the sudden appearance of Shizune. After a moment was taken to process, he was even more startled by her statement. Narrowing his eyes in disbelief, he responded.

[What do you mean, ‘Hanako’s a cheerleader’? That’s doesn’t sound like something she’d do.]

Shizune looked at him flatly. [Believe me, it’s as weird as it sounds. But yes, student council records have her as a member of the club. And she seems very into it as well.]

Hisao raised an eyebrow. [Show me.]

He let her lead him to the track. Sure enough, Hanako was there, practicing cheer routines with several other girls. Her outfit was...

Um...

A hard tapping on Hisao’s shoulder snapped him back to reality. He turned towards Shizune, who started signing again.

[Are we sure she’s Unawake? Baseline Hanako was never nearly this willing to show her scars.]

Hisao pondered the statement for a second, then shrugged. [All Pings we’re accounted for, and she didn’t check in. I guess it’s just another weird variant.] He sighed. [It’s nice to see her confident for once, though. She’s usually so self-conscious about her appearance.]

...[You’re just excited by the amount of skin she’s showing, aren’t you?] Shizune looked at the boy suspiciously. Flustered, he tried to make an excuse, but was interrupted by a whistling sound from behind.

“Damn, I never realized how hot Hanako was.” Emi was walking up towards them. After noticing Shizune, she quickly repeated the message in sign. The president’s expression immediately soured.

Hisao bopped the girl on the head.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“You were being perverted again.”

“I’m always perverted. It’s my role in this Loop!” Emi smiled gleefully. “Besides, you can’t deny that she does look good in that outfit.”

Hisao became flustered again.

Shizune bopped the girl on the head.

* * *

Hanako looked over at the sight. She smiled despite herself, then quickly turned away.

_ I think I’ll keep this in my Pocket..._

* * *

**2.10 Masterweaver**

* * *

The Declaration!

The door to the student council room slammed open, admitting a short but energetic young woman on a pair of metal legs. "SHIZUNE HAKAMICHI!"

Shizune didn't glance up from her paperwork until Misha nudged her elbow. [Oh. Ibarazaki. I take it you're not here about the athletics club?]

"Your assumption proves you are not beyond help, and fret not!" Emi rose a declarative finger. "For my purpose has been defined, and now I shall strike forward to attend it!"

[Okay, she's being dramatic,] Misha explained helpfully, [but she's offering to help, I think.]

[Help with what, exactly?]

"Our very lives have been upended by this repetition of time," Emi proclaimed, clutching the air. "Our personal growth, suddenly struck! Our emotions, our passions, our loves--twisted together by a sickened fate!"

[Blah blah blah, the loops made things weird, blah blah blah...]

[She's really throwing herself into this.]

"YET STILL WE REMAIN!" Emi cried, thrusting her hands to the left. "And in this remaining, we must grow, and to grow, we must acknowledge that which we retain!"

[Okay you know what, I don't even know where she's going anymore. I'm going to stop translating and just sum up when she's done.]

[Sounds about right.]

Emi leaned forward, one hand held above her forehead. "We are each of us beings of flesh with carnal needs. What those needs are may vary, and yet we reject them for what seems fairness. Yet I find this to be cruel and unhealthy!"

[I've been meaning to ask,] Shizune signed quietly, [how are you handling all this, Misha? I mean, you're sort of not involved in the same drama the rest of us are with these loops, so if we're forgetting you--]

[Oh, I'm fine,] Misha assured her quickly. [I mean, I don't have any new issues.]

"And I was proclaimed to be the one to whom such concerns would fall!" Emi stood tall, banging her fist against her shoulder. "So let it be known that I shall endeavor to consider every member of our group!"

[Really? I mean, if you ever want to talk--]

[Honestly, watching the rest of you try to work this out, I think it's best if you focus on that part for now, alright?]

"I shall take into account the lusts of every looper," Emi swore, clasping her hands together. "Lest ye learn of lovers that leave you lorn, know this: I long for lustrous loyalty, and so lean into the lost lingerings!"

[If you're sure...]

[Seriously, I'm fine. Like okay, maybe not a hundred percent, but looking at everything you've got on your plate, what I've got can wait.]

"So it is that I take my role, and you, Shizune, I shall attend! Amongst all, do not doubt, yet you show need for deliberation!" Emi smirked, holding out her hand. "And fret not, Misha, you too are in consideration, though I suspect you need less structure than she!"

"Uh... thanks." Misha shrugged. "Sorry, a lot of that was too poetic, could you sum up?"

Emi crossed her arms with a sigh. "As designated pervert I'm going to try to help everyone balance their sex lives using what methods I can so everyone ends up satisfied."

Misha blinked.

[What did she say?]

[Uh...] The pink-haired girl blushed. [I think she just flirted at us in anime? And then said she was going to help everyone balance their sex lives.]

Shizune facepalmed.

"You may doubt," Emi declared solemnly, "but I shall return, and find you the best exercise of intimacy!" With a salute, she turned and marched out of the room.

[Do you think she's serious about this?]

Misha shrugged. [It's a very silly sort of seriousness, but... apparently...?]

* * *

**2.11 Masterweaver**

* * *

What's the Buzz about?

"The student council room has been infested with funky wasps."

Hisao nodded absently. "We should probably spray them out--"

"No, I mean, _ funky _ wasps," Misha insisted. "Not like, they're funky--I mean they _ are _\--but they're playing---oh, it's easier to just show you!"

She grabbed his wrist, dragged him down the hall, and opened the door to the student council room. Inside, Shizune was working on a few club proposals... and either unaware of or deliberately ignoring the five human-sized hornets of varying color laying down some smooth tunes with a variety of instruments.

"See?" Misha gestured at the nearest one, somehow playing a saxophone. "Funky wasps!"

"...I think that's jazz, actually."

"That's not the point!"

"Well, what is?" Hisao asked plainly. "They don't seem to be hurting anyone."

"~Zzzbzzrr xx zzzrzzzmmmmzzzz!~" sang the one in the corner, pointing at them with a microphone.

"...Right back at you?" Hisao replied, hesitantly fingergunning back.

Misha pinched her brow. "Come on, Hisao, this is serious!"

"Do you think this is a glitch or a looper prank? I mean, nobody else checked in, but we could have a stealther--"

"We need to do something about this!"

"Again, they aren't hurting anyone... as far as I can tell." Hisao paused. "Has Shizune noticed them?"

"You know how she is," Misha grumbled. "Hyperfocused sometimes. They flew in and I tried to point them out, but it was all 'not now, Misha, this club has some serious legalize in their proposal.'" She huffed, glancing warily at the insect on the keyboard. "Giant bugs, Hisao. How many stories have you read where giant bugs are a serious problem?"

Hisao sighed. "Look... I can see why you're concerned, but what exactly can we do?"

"I... don't know...? I thought you'd know!"

"Why would I know how to handle giant bugs?"

Misha threw her hands into the air. "I don't know! I panicked!"

"...Look, we'll let them finish this set and then ask what's going on," Hisao decided. "That sound fair?"

"Hisao, they are giant---" Misha took a deep, intense breath. "Fine. Fine. I can't judge them for being... giant bugs. I'll give them a chance. Because that's apparently what we do."

"Thank you for understanding, Misha." Hisao turned back to the room, tapping his foot. "You know, they really do have a pretty good beat down."

* * *

**2.2 (Con't) Tetradrachm**

* * *

Communication Breakdown, part 4

[Katawa Shoujo][JJBA: DiU]

The fancy limousine pulled up to Yamaku’s front gate as Emi and the other Loopers watched. Joseph Joestar apparently hopped on a plane to Japan from New York City immediately after his phone call with Josuke. It was just the next morning after dinner at Trattoria Trussardi, the Italian restaurant, and the real estate mogul was already here.

That was how Emi thought of him because she actually knew him from her Loop memories. Everyone at Yamaku had heard of him: he was one of the wealthiest men in New York, and a big shot philanthropist. Josuke didn’t seem to have a high opinion of him, but it sure sounded like he’d accomplished a lot in life both in the public eye and on secret adventures. He’d defeated a race of ancient super-vampires as a teenager—with the same power that she might be able to learn!

She had to admit she was excited. A bit confused, too: she didn’t think she had any kind of superhuman willpower, and yet Josuke had thought she might be the one in ten thousand that could supposedly use Hamon.

Maybe he’d just been trying to flatter her, or something. She hadn’t exactly mentioned Hisao, and she had been getting along pretty well with Josuke. He wasn’t terrible on the eyes—except for his terrible hair—but, well, she wasn’t looking to open up her relationship like that just now.

Josuke was gone this morning with most of the others, still tracking down clues for the killer. The search last night had turned up some footprints near the scene of the latest crime, but nothing all that useful. Unfortunately, the Yamaku students all had classes this morning, and Jotaro had put his foot down at taking them out of school. Even if it was so, so boring...

Koichi had quickly stopped by a few minutes ago as lunch had started, thankfully without Yukako, and told them “Mr. Joestar” would arrive soon. He’d decided to come straight to the school without even seeing his family first, which made Emi feel uncomfortable. He’d come all the way here just for her; what if she couldn’t even use Hamon?

The car stopped, and a smartly dressed valet got out of the car and walked around to the passenger seat, opening it to reveal a wizened but massive old man. He blinked at the bright light, pulled his fedora down slightly, and clambered out of the car.

He towered over everyone watching at full height, even a stunned Mutou and Yuuko that had come out of the school to greet their surprise visitor, and looked nearly as burly as Jotaro and Josuke. He stretched his arms over head, giving an exaggerated yawn, and then relaxed with a roguish smile.

“Hello there!” he called out. “Which one of you said you wanted to learn to use Hamon?”

“Y-you’re Joseph Joestar, aren’t you?” Yuuko stammered. She seriously looked like she might faint. “What are you doing here?”

“Yep,” Joseph jabbed a thumb at himself, “that’s me! And this is Yamaku Academy...right?” Yuuko nodded. “A relative of mine told me about a student here that volunteered to learn a certain type of martial arts, of which I’m one of the last remaining experts in the world! I’ve been looking for someone to carry on my art, and...and...” he paused. “Eri? Eiko? Something with an E...”

“Emi?” Emi suggested.

“Emi! Yes! That you?” Joseph asked her, and she nodded with a smile. “Right! Emi, here, has given me an opportunity to do just that.”

Yuuko shifted from shock to confusion. “Um, alright...so you’re picking her up for this training?”

“Something like that, although we could practice here. That’s alright with you—with the school?”

“Well, Emi’s an adult,” Yuuko said. “It’s her choice what she wants to do in her free time.”

Joseph looked relieved. “Good. Right then, Emi, you want to just stay here? We’ll need to have some privacy.”

Emi very carefully didn’t think about why she normally looked for privacy at Yamaku. “Sure!” she chirped. “Down in the basement ought to work.”

The front doors slammed open behind them, and an Unawake Shizune and Misha stormed out, followed by Hisao.

“Lunch is over!” Misha announced, obviously on Shizune’s orders. “Everybody off to—what’s wrong, Shizune?”

Shizune spotted Joseph and staggered back, eyes wide and hand to her heart. She snapped her fingers in Misha’s face and started signing rapidly. Even with the lessons Awake Misha had given her Emi couldn’t follow.

“What—what is—he’s super famous?” Misha gasped, staring at Joseph.

Emi blushed. “Let’s just...go inside. Quickly.”

* * *

“You know,” Joseph confided in her a few minutes later, “all that stuff I said about finding a successor was a load of crap.”

They were standing in one of the basement rooms now. Emi had changed into her track suit, but Joseph still wore a somewhat formal set of clothes topped with an unexplainable deerstalker cap. She wondered if he was just going to make her work out by herself.

Getting down here had been a hassle: Shizune had tried to bombard Joseph with questions, and then prevent the two of them from leaving. Lilly and Hanako had ended up playing defense, stopping Shizune in the hallway cold by pestering her with questions about school code. Shizune would probably lecture them for at least ten minutes, and then rage at them when she realized what they’d done. Emi was grateful for their brave sacrifice.

“Really?” Emi asked with surprise. “I guess that makes sense, you being a Looper and all. What’s the real reason you wanted to do this, then? Oh,” she gasped, “I’m sorry if I’m being too forward.”

“Too forward? You think I give a damn about that?” Joseph gave a deep belly laugh. “Ha! You must think I’m some kinda old coot, don’t you? No way! I spend my usual Loop as a kid your age! I’m just stuck in an old body here, is all.”

“Oh...wait, your usual Loop? I thought Josuke was the Anchor.”

“Sure, he’s the Anchor—of this part. Our Loop is actually a whole buncha Loops running in succession. I’m Anchor of my own part, back when I was a kid. So don’t think you have to try and impress me.”

Emi laughed. “That’s a relief. I’m not sure how well I’d do if I tried!”

“Listen, if you can master Hamon you’ll have done more than enough for me.”

That uneasy feeling settled in her chest again. “Josuke was telling me only one in ten thousand can use it. I’m not so sure...”

“What?” Joseph cried, eyes wide. “He told you that? That’s completely wrong! Anyone can use Hamon! It’s just about whether you have the willpower, and drive, to see it through. Tell me, why didn’t your friends volunteer to learn with you?”

Emi shrugged. “Well, Lilly’s blind, so she didn’t think she would do very well learning martial arts. Hanako doesn’t really like conflict, and she’s pretty shy besides. And I think Rin just wasn’t interested.”

“Hmm,” Joseph rumbled, crossing his arms. “You wanna know something? Any of them could have learned to use Hamon. It’s a sensory ability, so you really don’t need to be able to see. You can use it for healing, you don’t ever have to use it in a fight. But they’re not here now, and you are. I showed up today, a big, brash foreigner with a fancy car, and you could have been intimidated out of it. You stuck it out, and that means you have the determination you need! You have the willpower! You can learn to use Hamon!”

“Uh,” Emi said, taken a bit by surprise. She hadn’t expected anything like that kind of insightful pep talk, especially not from a man like Joseph. It had been her boredom that had at first made her want to go along with this training idea, but something in his spontaneous support of her moved her.

She suddenly wanted to pull through, to succeed at this just as she had when she’d decided to learn to run again after the accident. A small, guilty part of her wondered if it was because something in Joseph’s attitude reminded her of her father encouraging her at a track meet. “I...okay,” she continued, a flame of determination alight in her heart. “Yes. Yes, I want to try. I’ll do it!”

“That’s the spirit!” Joseph cried with a huge smile. “Now, to get started, is it alright if I touch you?”

“Sure, I guess...?”

He socked her hard in the gut.

Emi crumpled in on herself, collapsing to the floor in an instant. The breath was sucked out of her, and she couldn’t even find the coherency to think at first. “What...the...fuck...” she panted out, curled up in on herself.

“Do you feel the breath gone from your body?” Joseph asked intently. “Focus on inhaling, focus on the air coming into your body. Breathe it in, quickly.”

That’s what I’m trying to do, you asshole, she wanted to say, but she focused on sucking in enough air to feel comfortable again first. What had she been thinking, falling for whatever shitty attempt at a prank this was? Now she was on the floor, in pain—or no, she realized abruptly, and with total surprise, she didn’t feel any pain at all. Where he’d punched her felt perfectly fine. Even her legs, which had been chafing a bit, felt better. What the hell?

Joseph seemed to be watching her carefully. When her face shifted from fury to confusion, he grinned savagely and posed, placing one hand in front of his face and the other out towards her. “Next you’ll say, ‘What the fuck is going on? You punched me but it didn’t hurt!’”

“What the fuck is going on?” Emi demanded. “You punched me but it didn’t hurt!”

She immediately choked on her own tongue. He predicted what she was going to say, word-for-word!

“All I did was shift your diaphragm just so with that punch,” Joseph explained. “It would have hurt—but your own breath healed it! Or rather, the energy you are now controlling with that breath! That is Hamon!”

“And you had to fucking punch me to explain this?” she asked, still furious even if part of her was more amazed. She could use the power!

“I had to touch your diaphragm to change your breathing, yes,” he said with a smirk. “But I also did it to shift a bit of my own Hamon into you—to do this!”

Emi’s arms flailed behind her of their own accord, hands finding purchase on the floor behind her and shoving with greater force than she could have normally mustered. She was flung to her feet by her body moving outside of her control. Before she could react he gently touched her shoulder.

“I used Hamon to bring you to your feet, and then just now drew it out of you again,” he said cockily. “Still interested in learning to use the skill yourself?”

“Don’t ever do that again, you asshole!” she snarled. “And of course I still want to learn, that was fucking awesome!”

Joseph laughed uproariously.

* * *

**2.12 MaracaRin**

* * *

Close Call

Hisao hated lonely loops.

From what he heard, every Anchor did, but knowing that didn’t serve to alleviate any of his boredom. His Pocket was relatively empty too, due to how new he was. All he had was Yamaku and its students.

Which is why he found himself on top of the roof, having another “Manly picnic” with Kenji. The conspiracy theory addict was drunk out of his mind already, and Hisao was somewhat regretting his decision.

“Y’know man...” Kenji slurred out, “I trust you. You’re cool. So I’m gonna tell you my third-best kept secret.”

Hisao quirked his eyebrow. This was different. Kenji had told him his first and second secrets in Baseline, but never his third. It would probably be Loop variable, but it would be interesting nonetheless.

“The truth is, man, I’m old. Like, really old. Older than you can imagine.”

Hisao scoffed. “What, are you a vampire?”

“What? No, that’s stupid.” Kenji shook his head. “I’m a time traveler.”

Hisao blinked.

He blinked again.

“YOU’RE LOOPING?!” he shouted. Kenji recoiled.

“Quiet! They’ll hear us!” Kenji whisper-shouted at Hisao. “They shut the project down. If they figure out that I used to be a part of the project, they’ll lock me away!”

“How-why-what-...” Hisao stopped his rambling, latching on to something Kenji said. “...wait, used to be?”

“Of course!” Kenji yelled, completely disregarding his own warning. “I was a member of the Time Travel Club my first year here. That is, until the feminists shut it down.”

Hisao simply looked over at the boy, narrowing his eyes. “So... you’re not Looping then.”

“Whaddya mean, ‘looping’? And what would you know about time travel? You never joined the project!”

“I-“

* * *

**2.13 Masterweaver**

* * *

Trees in Bloom

"So, Rin, I've been thinking." Emi took a shirt out of the drawer. "And--I want to make this clear, I'm not trying to say your way of thinking is at all wrong, it's just... look, if _ I _ ask your unawake self if she's feeling loopy, she might actually say yes and that will confuse everyone, you know?"

Rin tilted her head. "I... suppose that the phrase might interpolate itself into my artistry in that way."

"Yeah, so--shoulders out--I'm thinking that _ you _will have to be the one to ask if I--or Hisao, or anybody--is feeling loopy. Because otherwise we might accidentally distress your unawake self, and... I don't think anybody wants that."

"Ah. I suppose you're right. Best to see the true shape, instead of chasing the shape of clouds."

Emi giggled as she started buttoning up Rin's shirt. "Funny you should say that. In... you know, the timeline where I was dating Hisao, you actually walked in on us right as we finished, you know, banging for the first time." She gave Rin a sardonic smirk. "You didn't even care that we were naked, you were just interested in watching a cloud that had passed out of view of your window that you needed mine to see."

"Mmm." Rin nodded thoughtfully. "I... yes. The attachment... just bodies. Yes, I could see that happening. I suppose you've seen me exposed often enough that it would be fair."

"I guess, yeah. I mean, if you want me to strip right now--"

"I don't have my paints."

Emi's face scrunched up for a moment. Then she beamed. "Life drawing, right? That's what you're talking about?"

"...Yes." Rin tilted her head. "What were you talking about?"

"Uh, well. Sex. Or, you know, at least foreplay. Or flirting. I'm sorry, I'm so used to the idea of nudity and sex being intertwined, thinking about it in other contexts doesn't come naturally to me."

"Exposure is trust," Rin mused. "But trust does not need to come with exercise of trust to still be worthwhile."

Emi glanced away for a moment.

"...Hey Rin?"

"Yes?"

"Does it... bother you, when you say something, and people don't understand?"

"It... does," Rin admitted. "I try to shape ideas with words--and with art--and too often, what comes out is warped and not enough of it. The concept is... there's a painting in my head, but when I speak it comes out wadded up. Or sometimes people will see the outline of the shapes and not the color. And the painting is just a snapshot of the scenery that I want to show in the first place, still image of a living... thing."

"Yeah." Emi sat down on the bed. "Yeah, I... I like to keep things simple. Or, well, not simple. More... streamlined. I'm fine with sudden swerves if I can... move with it. Look at me, I'm using motion metaphors where you use paint metephors."

"It's easier to transfer understanding through what you're used to."

"Yeah. I mean... there's this thing in my head about this situation. About... the whole thing. How we're all trying to hold on to what we had..." She looked down at her blades. "It's funny, I like wearing these more than the more 'real' looking plastic legs. The plastic legs would let me look normal, maybe feel normal... not as 'normal' as if I had my old legs back, but you know, the point is they would be more... they would look like the old ones. But these blades, they don't feel like my old legs. They feel different and strange... and more _ right _ then the plastic legs that I have."

Emi looked up at Rin. "Is that wrong? I mean, I'd love my old legs back, but is it wrong that I... like the result of the thing that hurt me so deeply?"

Rin sat down beside her. "...Did you like it at first?"

"Hell no."

"So you grew into liking it."

Emi nodded. "Yeah. Growing into it. See, that's my point, you need to... we need to grow into this. We can't go back. We have to go forward." She groaned. "But nobody else can see that! They just... they think I'm just joking around, and I am a little, but it's... it's to see how they're growing, you know?"

"...maybe you are only looking for one kind of growth," Rin suggested. "A tree has fruit, but it also has flowers and leaves. And branches. And fungi, I think. Also bird nests, but that's not the tree's fault. Trees are fascinating collections of growth and life, but if you're only looking for cherries, you'll never see the blossoms."

"...wow. Hey, do you come up with these deep philosophies on the spot or do you spend a lot of time thinking them up and just say them when they seem appropriate?"

Rin shrugged. "It's more a bunch of pebbles that can snowball when I throw them down the mountain."

"I am... actually starting to get that." Emi chuckled. "Woo. Okay, wow, I think I need to go for a run. Hey, Rin?"

"Yes?"

"...Thanks for listening. And... trying to get me." She clapped a hand on her shoulder. "You've got a lot going on worth hearing... even if we can only hear a few words of it at a time."

Rin smiled. "It's just who I am."

* * *

**2.14 Masterweaver**

* * *

Oops.

Hanako tapped her pencil against the desk rapidly, trying to keep herself contained while Mutou introduced Hisao to the class again. She could see Shizune and Misha twitching as well, their eyes locked on the boy who, himself, was fidgeting awkwardly. It wasn't long before he took his usual seat next to Misha; she could see the pink-haired girl signing quickly at him, but from her vantage it wasn't clear what the two of them were saying to each other. Shizune, who _ was _ close enough to see the conversation, stiffened for a moment, before adjusting her glasses and putting on an exasperated expression.

Class continued as per usual, though none of the four of them paid too much attention. Shizune did glance back at Hanako and try to sign something, but Hanako wasn't able to get much from it--she really needed to learn how to read that sort of thing. It wasn't until the bell rang and the class dissolved that she managed to get to Hisao.

"Hey, so... about last loop, what--"

"Hisao, what the hell happened last loop?" Emi demanded, striding up. "I mean it was the middle of the loop and then, poof, suddenly I'm back on the track!"

Hisao bit his lip. "You know how we got warned about... Anchors dying?"

"Yeah, that's kind of why I'm here."

"Well... I was out in town and... well..." Hisao swallowed. "A white dog just jumped at me, out of nowhere, with this... incredibly loud bark."

"Really."

"And... I was so startled, that, um..." He rubbed his chest awkwardly.

"...that you had a heart attack, and wound up..." Emi pinched her brow. "Okay, wow, that's just... are we going to have to have somebody watching you at all times?"

"Erm."

"I mean..." Hanako cleared her throat. "I... guess it would make me more comfortable if, you know, somebody was on hand to prevent this sort of thing in the future."

[We can talk about it later,] Shizune decided. [Seriously, though, a dog?]

"Yeah, I don't know what that was about..."

* * *

"So let me get this straight. You thought this guy was cheating on multiple girls, so you jumped him to drag him to justice--and he fell over, died, and the loop crashed."

The white dog sighed. "Yes, Mittens."

"You just have the _ worst _ luck sometimes Bolt." The cat threw up a paw. "I mean, how does that even make sense?!"

* * *

**2.2 (Con't) Tetradrachm**

* * *

Communication Breakdown, part 5

[Katawa Shoujo][JJBA: DiU]

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Emi sucked the air in and out of her lungs with all of her might, eyes closed and focused on the rhythm more than anything else. The setting sun’s rays felt warm on her face, and the sensation spread through her body as she once again felt Hamon flow through her. Her hands were clasped tight around a soda can, and she carefully forced the energy into the liquid.

Just three months ago she could barely sense the energy, let alone take control of it. Now, she forced it to ripple out from the can, entirely under her power, sending out a wave that gave her an intimate sense of everything around her in an area about ten feet in diameter. The grass beneath her prosthetics (coated in oil, so as to propagate Hamon across them), the wind rushing through the open space of the track field, even the insects burrowing in the dirt below...

...and the unmistakably humanoid form carefully tiptoeing towards her.

Without opening her eyes, she spun in place and threw a punch at the form. Weeks of pushups, pull-ups, and painful practice punches had given her some actual arm strength for the first time in her life, but more importantly this was a Hamon technique as well.

“Zoom Punch!” she cried. Her shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints in her punching arm all stretched out of place in the signature motion of the technique. Her fist flew faster than she could have ever done naturally.

It landed true—on something that cracked like a piece of wood, instead of a person.

Emi’s eyes snapped open, and she found herself facing a construct of tree branches roughly shaped like a person. It must have been held together by Joseph’s Hamon. Speaking of the old devil, the instant she opened her eyes he lunged off of a nearby tree—probably where he got the branches—and readied his own attack mid-air.

“Ripple Beat!” His arm raised in a chop, he seemed to fall directly towards her in slow motion.

Emi grimaced and readied her best defensive position. “Repel!” Her arms, held up in a block, resonated with her Hamon and met his attack without giving way completely. They were both forced back, her more than him, but neither were knocked over.

“Not bad,” Joseph allowed, not even breathing hard while Emi was grateful for the quick pause to catch her own breath properly. “But you still need to take the time to identify what you sense with your Ripple Detector. You could have known those tree branches weren’t actually me in advance. And you were supposed to keep your eyes closed for the whole thing!”

“Yes, I know,” Emi grumbled. Her impatience kept getting the better of her on that front. On the other hand, Joseph did love his surprise attacks, so half the time she didn’t have time to really figure out what he was planning—

He lunged forward and promptly stumbled over his own feet. “What!” he yelled out, barely catching himself before he hit the ground. He whipped his head around to look at his legs.

A clump of grass had grown out around him and tied itself around his shoes.

“Gotcha!” Emi cried. It felt damn good to finally get one over on him!

Joseph grinned at her. “Very nice!” With a firm yank he pulled his leg out. “That was some quick thinking! You set that up after I landed on the ground, huh?”

“Maybe,” she said with a huge smile.

“That was using the environment to your advantage! You used my favorite strategy against me!” he mock accused her as he staggered to his feet. “Taking advantage of an old man’s trust like that...” He keeled over, grabbing at his foot. “I think you broke it!”

“You done whining?” she asked, crossing her arms. “I wanna go another round!”

She knew he was fine, and didn’t really mind his usual crap; that was just who he was. He was infuriating sometimes in other ways too, forcing her into rigorous training gauntlets and exercises while he wandered off. He’d use his Hamon to make sure she was still jogging, or doing the tai-chi like exercises, or even just meditating, and he’d make her work at it for hours at a time.

She’d never had a better teacher, though, and that was part of what spurred her to push through it all.

The excitement she’d initially felt over being able to use the skill—in spite of his bullshit way of showing her she could—had made her leap into training headfirst. Once she’d started his training regime, and realized it was really intense, she hadn’t found it in her to quit. It was just like when she’d started jogging with Hisao in Baseline—she couldn’t let someone else down. Now, though, it was because she could tell she was getting somewhere with Hamon thanks to him, and she didn’t just want to let him down but to succeed outright.

“Ha, maybe later,” he chuckled. “It might be the end of the Loop later, remember?”

“Oh, yeah...” Her face fell. She had forgotten, or maybe she’d intentionally not been thinking about it. The convoluted way their Loop worked, it was never certain which sections of their timeline might pass in a given Loop. Sometimes it would begin as early as over a century ago, with Joseph’s own grandfather as Anchor, and could carry straight through to the latest Anchor, Jolyne, ten years into the future. This time, though, the Loop had only started in 1999, so it was possible only Josuke’s section of the Loop would happen this time.

“It might not,” Joseph allowed, “but just in case we were all supposed to go out to dinner at Trussardi’s to celebrate. You don’t want to miss that, do ya?”

Her stomach rumbled. Tonio’s food was so, so good...

“No,” she sighed, “I really don’t.”

* * *

Josuke and the others had nabbed the killer, and a few other nasty people, in just over a week after the beginning of the Loop. The serial killer had turned out to be a delivery man named Taro Suzuki or something, and supposedly they’d had quite the fight bringing him down.

Emi had felt sick to her stomach when they’d explained the only way to incapacitate him was to chop off his hands.

Once that stress was gone, everyone had been free to do whatever they wanted. Jotaro had returned to America with Jolyne to spend time with her and her mother even though she wasn’t Awake. Josuke and Okuyasu had started a pachinko parlor, apparently with machines they’d designed themselves, and spent most days playing their own games. As Josuke put it, random chance was one of the few things that never got old in the Loops.

Koichi and Yukako had organized a huge group vacation to Italy and everyone still in Morioh, including the Yamaku Loopers, had gone along. They’d visited Florence, Rome, and Naples, with a day trip to Pompeii as well. Emi had loved every minute of the trip, but Hanako had adored it even more. She’d ended up organizing their days around places she’d read about and returned to Morioh with a newfound love for history and art.

Lilly had been more interested in the specific history of the Loop, and she’d spent long hours researching the mysteries of the ancient civilization of the Pillar Men. Joseph had pulled some strings and she’d ended up flying out to an excavation site in Mexico run by the Speedwagon Foundation to do some hands-on research. She’d even gone to Washington and seen Santana in person!

Rin had gone all-in on her art this Loop, as she did pretty much every Loop. She’d managed to seriously impress Rohan with a sample of her art, and he’d given her some lessons. In the last month she’d made an agreement with the town of Morioh to paint some murals downtown. Many of them featured abstract images of local residents and their Stands.

Emi almost felt inadequate compared to everyone else; she’d just trained the whole time. Of course, no one else had picked up superpowers...

They’d all had a good time, and that’s what mattered, she decided as they all gobbled down yet another delicious course of dinner at Trattoria Trussardi. Sure, she’d miss all the friends she made here, but they’d meet again eventually, right?

“Why the long face?” Josuke asked her, mouth half-full. “Bummed about the Loop ending?” Josuke sat across the table from her, and Joseph sat on one side and Rin the other. Joseph was engaged in conversation with Lilly about the Pillar Men, while Rin was lost in her own world, as usual.

“Yeah, I guess,” she admitted. She speared another piece of mushroom gnocchi and considered it. “I mean, it’s been great meeting you guys, but we might not see each other again for, like, millennia. How do you deal with something like that? It’s sad!”

“Well-mm,” he swallowed, “first of all, you know you’re gonna see everybody again. It’s definitely not forever,” he said confidently. “If you’re really wanting to see someone again, just ask your Admin. They’re usually more than willing to set up a Fused Loop for you.”

“Huh...I don’t think any of us have met our Admin yet. Or even know who they are...”

“Unless they’re one of the shy ones, they’ll show their face eventually. They probably just wanted you to get used to the Loops first before bowling you over with their godliness.” He paused, as if trying to remember something. “Oh! I have another reason you don’t have to miss us so much. See, Morioh town doesn’t have a set location in Baseline, except for being located in, uh, ‘S City in M Prefecture.’ You know how random details change around a lot, right?” She nodded; she didn’t like to think about how her memories of her father were different each Loop. “Well, most of the time that city ends up being Sendai, in Miyagi Prefecture, like it is now. And that’s where Yamaku is in Baseline, right?”

“I think so,” she said doubtfully. “I’d have to check, but that’s where it’s been almost every time.”

“Right! So, both of our Loops almost always take place in Sendai. That means that we have a way, way better chance of Fused Loops with each other! It’s like how crossovers make other Loops more likely to Fuse with each other.”

“Really?” she asked, excited. That was great news!

“Totally. I’ve seen it happen a million times,” he said with a grin. “Just can’t wait to see me again, huh?”

She rolled her eyes. “More Joseph than you.”

He looked genuinely horrified. “I can’t believe you’d betray me like this! Turning me down in favor of my own father!”

They both laughed. Emi knew now that he wasn’t really serious about flirting with her. He had told her that the Loops had eventually brought him around to a kind of asexuality, if not in theory at least in practice. He was life partners with Okuyasu, anyway.

“She may be your friend,” Joseph boomed, turning around as Lilly giggled, “but she is my student. To her training comes first!”

“And since when do you care about teaching anybody?” Josuke challenged him. “I’m surprised you didn’t get bored in the first month!”

“You mean like I did with you? Or rather, when you got bored of learning it and quit?”

Josuke rolled his eyes and everyone laughed.

“The truth is,” Joseph continued, “I kept training Emi because I could see her determined spirit. You remind me very much of one of my best friends, Caesar Zeppeli,” he said to her. She was shocked; he’d mentioned Caesar a few times over the course of their training. He’d sung Caesar’s praises! “Yes, your confidence, your expressive attitude...even your passions,” he said with a too-knowing smile. “All just like him.”

“But most of all, it’s your determination that brings him to mind. You’ll both persevere, push through, go to the very limit for your ambitions. You’ll be a fantastic Hamon master one day, I know it...if you keep up your training! I am very proud of what you’ve accomplished, and had a lot of fun on the way too!”

Were there tears in her eyes? “I did too, and I will,” she said, swallowing. “I’ll practice every day!”

“Then you’ll do better than me!” he laughed.

A fork chimed against a glass, and everyone at the table turned to see Koichi standing.

“We’ve got about ten seconds left to the possible end of the Loop,” he announced. “I just wanted to raise a toast to our new friends, and to all the adventures we’ve had! Cheers!”

Everyone raised their glasses. “Cheers!”

Emi clinked her glass of red wine with Joseph, then with Josuke, and even with Rin, and took a deep swallow.

* * *

Emi opened her eyes, and saw the ceiling of her room at Yamaku.

Back to the same routine, she considered with an internal sigh. Back to the mundane, the humdrum, and the boring.

She took a deep breath. Breathe in, breathe out.

Sparks danced around her fingertips, and she felt energy flowing through her body.

She grinned.

* * *

**2.15 Masterweaver**

* * *

Shadows of Scotland

Hanako slid up to Lilly carefully, wrapping a hand around her arm. "Do you... _ have _ to go to scotland?"

"What?" Lilly frowned. "Of... course I do, my aunt is sick and--"

"Lilly, we're looping. Your aunt is sick, but... she's going to get better, we know that. And..." Hanako sighed. "This... this usually when your parents--"

"Hanako."

"...it's when they start to pressure you to stay there."

"Hanako, please." Lilly shook her head. "I don't want to talk about--"

"I know I'm not Hisao, but I am your friend," Hanako pressed. "And... and this whole situation, this whole mess--"

"You wouldn't understand. You couldn't, your--"

Lilly cut herself off, just a second too late.

"...My..." Hanako swallowed. "...my parents are--"

"I'm sorry." Lilly bowed her head. "That was too far. I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have brought that up."

Hanako frowned to herself.

"...People think... that because they're gone... I don't want to talk about them. They think the pain of... the trauma of what happened somehow overwrites the good memories." She shook her head. "There are triggers, I'll admit that. But... if I never talked, if I never remembered... What use would that be?" The tiniest of smiles began to grow. "I remember... I remember one time, I think I was five, and I said... I said I would be the princess of cats and cookies. And my mother, she asked me if I was paying the cats with cookies, because cats can't eat cookies. That was news to me. But then I thought it would make a great sort of money, because even if they couldn't eat it, they could give cookies to people and they'd give them, you know, food and pets. And she said I was.... I was such a clever little girl..."

"That... does sound adorable," Lilly admitted. "I... I wish I could have met them."

"I think they'd have liked to meet you." Hanako considered for a moment. "You know, maybe I could, um, come with you to meet your parents. I'm pretty good with english, now. I've been studying."

"...I..." Lilly shook her head. "I... no. This... this is a thing for me, Hanako, and you are a good friend, but, I have to do this on my own."

"Why?"

"I..."

"I mean, you could ask His..." Hanako cringed. "You could... ask Hisao. To come with you."

Lilly tilted her head. "I don't think that would be fair to... everyone."

"I guess it wouldn't, but... do you really have to face them alone?"

"It's not facing them. It's..." Lilly sighed. "Yes, they do want me to stay with them. But they... they don't want to... force me. It's... they just want to be with me. Like..."

She trailed off.

"...Like family." Hanako nodded. "Lilly... Is this what _ you _ want?"

"I'm not going to suddenly decide to stay in Scotland," Lilly assured her. "But... I feel like I should at least keep in touch. When I can."

"...okay." Hanako shifted closer. "You know... we all miss you, while you're gone."

"I... I'm only gone for a week, you know that."

"Still."

"...You can call me at any time," Lilly said gently.

Hanako squeezed her hand. "I know."

* * *

**2.16 Masterweaver**

* * *

Careful what you teach

Emi waved as she walked up to the bleachers. "Shizune! What up, my main gal, how's the haps?"

Shizune leveled a flat look at her.

"...Right, sorry." [Greetings fair maiden, I implore a moment of your valuable time.]

Shizune's eyebrow rose. [I'm sorry?]

[An idea hath crossed mine mind, and twould be an honor of the highest caliber were I to conduct it with your assistance. Might you lend interest to my humble endeavor?]

Shizune stared at her for a moment, before pulling out her phone.

\--Misha, Emi just came to me and started some incredibly flowery hand speaking. What do you know about this?

\--O yea, so i thot it be fun to play a lil prank and teach the others to JSL in spef ways. Emi got teh fancy play lessons. She hasn't caut on yet, lol!

"...I'm missing something," Emi observed. "I said something weird, didn't I?"

Shizune wordlessly turned the phone around for her to read.

"...You know what?" Emi grinned. "I'm not even mad. Can I, uh...?"

Shizune handed the phone over.

\--Good one, Misha! Man, you sure pulled the wool over her eyes. Maybe next time you can teach her to say something extra flirty!

\--Huh, I thot u'd be more upset Shicchan

\--That you ran circles around the runner? I'm not upset, I'm impressed. She's going away now, how about we workshop something together?

\--lol kay!

\--Hold on, I have another text.

Emi quickly shifted to the phone's note function and typed a message before handing it back to Shizune. The girl read the message, quirked a brow, turned back to the texts, rose both her brows, and peered over her glasses at Emi.

The runner shrugged. "Hey, it's up to you."

After a moment, Shizune smirked and nodded.

* * *

"Okay, now I'm going to teach you how to greet a friend," Misha said. "Are you watching?"

Emi nodded. "Yep."

"Okay." [Hey there, you sexy thing!]

[Hey yourself, hot stuff.]

Misha blinked. "Wait, wh--"

Emi kissed her full on the lips.

"MMM?!"

The runner leaned back, smirking. "What? That was pretty flirty."

"You--I--but--" Misha blushed, trying to work out what just happened. "How did you... on the phone, Shicchan said--"

"Yeeeeeah, so some of those texts might have been from me," Emi admitted. "Shizune was laughing the whole time, mind."

"....dang it." Misha shook her head. "Alright, you got me."

"Don't try to prank a prankster, kiddo. We're territorial."

"Are you even a prankster though?"

"I am now." Emi settled into her chair. "So why don't we try to do _ actual _ JSL lessons, huh?"

* * *

**2.17 Masterweaver**

* * *

At least it rhymes, kinda.

"Hisao?"

"Yes, Misha?"

"Why are we all made of different kinds of cake mix?"

"Because this is a Batawa Shoujo loop."

"...That pun is really stretching it."

"I'm not in charge of the loops, Misha!"

* * *

**2.18 Tetradrachm**

* * *

It’s Good to be Home

Hisao had been pleasantly surprised when he had arrived at Yamaku this Loop and he had been mobbed with hugs by most of his loves. Shizune, the only one who hadn’t, had been furious, and had only gotten more angry when she’d learned why.

[A Fused Loop? Not just visiting Loopers, but a whole different world?] Shizune demanded, scowling dangerously. They were all crowded around a table at lunchtime, and Hisao could tell everyone else there was gossiping about their group. Not that he really cared.

“Ooh!” Misha cried, ignoring Shizune, “did you get to meet Sailor Moon?”

Lilly smiled and said, “No, we didn’t, but some of the Loopers we met had met her before.” Misha gasped, but then Lilly held up her hand and forestalled her next question, “Unfortunately, it was a Null Loop, so we weren’t able to bring anything back.” Emi smirked at this, but the others nodded.

“Darn it!” Misha looked put out, but only for a moment. “Was it fun? Was it a cool Loop?”

Everybody that had been there smiled or laughed. They all looked happier from it, somehow, even though Rin and Hanako had already told him how much they’d been missing him the whole time. “Well,” Lilly began cautiously, “it was a rather strange Loop.”

“Bizarre,” Emi corrected her immediately, “you have to say it was a bizarre Loop. It’s in the name!”

Lilly giggled. “Yes, a bizarre Loop. It took place right here, in Sendai, but the town was called Morioh...”

Lilly launched into an explanation that lost Hisao somewhere between “invisible fighting ghosts” and “ancient Aztec vampires—but not really,” supplemented by Emi from time to time. She still had a little, teasing grin that kept drawing his attention in more than one way, and judging by the looks she kept giving him she could tell he was noticing.

“All right, Emi, spill it,” he finally said with a tired sigh.

“What do you mean?” she asked all too innocently.

“There’s something you’re excited to tell me about, right?” Hisao asked. He wouldn’t have pushed the issue, but he wanted her to stop, ahem, exciting him.

Her smile widened. “Well—“

“She became a plant.”

Everyone at the table turned to look at Rin, who was already lifting another bite of rice to her mouth. “Come again?” Hisao asked.

Rin shrugged, putting down the rice. “She has sunlight powers now that make her stronger. She’s like a plant.”

Emi sputtered. “I—but—that’s the worst—!” She visibly sagged. “You just can’t let me have anything in life, can you?”

Rin shrugged.

[You gained powers? I thought you said it was a Null Loop!] The latest revelation had got Shizune’s temper going again.

“Everything native to the Loop still worked,” Emi explained, her smile cheerful again. “I’ll show you guys after classes, okay?”

On the way out of the cafeteria, Hisao made sure to check up on Shizune. He slid in next to her walking back to class and signed, [You alright?]

She glared at him briefly, but then her face softened. [I’m not mad at you. I’m not even mad at them. But...] She hesitated. [They all got to go experience something I may never get to experience, met new people, learned strange powers. How can I...ever catch up?]

Hisao stared at her for a moment. [Why would you need to catch up? There isn’t a competition—at least, not one I know about.]

Shizune huffed. [No, but...I can already see how it changed Emi. And I could see how you were looking at her.]

Hisao managed to keep some of the blush off of his face. [Yes, well...if she grows, and changes, then it makes me happy for her, and I’ll appreciate it, but it doesn’t have anything to do with my love for you. I can love her for who she is, and still love you for who you are. Nothing anyone else does will ever change that.] He squeezed her in a brief hug.

She leaned in ever so slightly. [I believe you...] As he pulled back, though, she looked more calculating than anything else. [That doesn’t mean I can’t strive to match her for my own satisfaction. It’s not about you, now...it’s about me.]

That couldn’t bode anything good.

* * *

**2.19 Masterweaver**

* * *

Startled Shizune Is Startled

Shizune finished up another club report, signing off a budgetary limit and putting it in her outbox. She glanced up as Misha suddenly stood, watching her walk toward the door and open it. An armless girl--the artist, she thought--stood there, and the two began to talk amicably enough; Misha stepped aside to let her in, shutting the door behind her and continuing their conversation. Shizune rapped her fingers on the table, and when Misha glanced at her tilted her head at the third girl questioningly.

[Sorry, Shicchan, Rin tends to speak poetically. When she gets to the point I'll give you a summary.]

Shizune sighed, but a look at the distant gaze of Rin made her concede the point. She pulled out another club request, working through it and putting it in the outbox. Request, look over, check, out. It was smooth and rhythmic. Almost entirely automatic by this point.

She noticed a paper sliding into the pile on her right and rose her head to glare at the girl--and then jerked back in shock as she realized just _what_ the girl was using to put the paper on her desk.

A tongue. A meter-long tongue, just, just casually dangling out of Rin's mouth--she watched it retract into her mouth.

Misha was clearly stunned as well, and asked... something, she couldn't tell. For a moment, surprise flickered across Rin's face, and then... a strange mix of realization and amusement, almost as if she had just recalled something nobody else knew. She and Misha spoke for a bit, and to Shizune's surprise she watched Misha relax, laugh, as if some sort of physical impossibility hadn't just been thrust into their reality. The two conversed a bit more, before Misha turned to Shizune, trying to hide an irrationally present grin.

[Rin says she was abducted by aliens last week, and they gave her a new tongue after she answered their questions on earth art.]

What.

[What.]

[Yep.]

[They gave her a meter-long tongue.]

Misha was clearly struggling not to laugh. [Actually it's four meters long.]

[What.] Shizune turned to Rin, who was smiling innocently. [What.]

Rin shrugged, her tongue snaking out and writhing. It took a few seconds for Shizune to realize she was shaping it into kanji.

|Life does not always make sense.|

Well, she could certainly say _that _again. Or... tongue-write it. Apparently.

Shizune looked back to Misha, who was desperately trying to hold in her giggles, and quirked an incredulous eyebrow. [You're just going to accept that? 'Aliens abducted me and now I have a supertongue?']

[I mean what are we supposed to do? Take Rin to the nurse for a checkup on her new bodypart?]

[I...]

Shizune frowned.

[...why are you laughing?]

Misha tried to explain, but she was laughing too hard to focus and eventually just gestured at Shizune--no, at Shizune's face. At her expression. She huffed, which made Misha laugh even more. Rin rolled her eyes, grabbed the door handle _ with her tongue, _ and walked out of the room.

Honestly, it was enough to make Shizune suspect she was the only sane person at Yamaku.

* * *

**2.20 Tetradrachm**

* * *

Tension at Tea Time

Another sip. The hint of citrus, orange and lemon, danced around her taste buds, and she gave a small sigh of contentment. This Jethi Kupi Darjeeling was quite expensive, but in Lilly’s opinion it was more than worth the price...and the special order she’d had to make when the Loop began just to get it. Perhaps she would look into a Pocket greenhouse for tea eventually, when it grew large enough.

Lilly savored these quiet moments. Day-to-day life at Yamaku was a dull roar of boredom. It pushed her to her very limits to keep up the enthusiasm and interest to pay attention at this point, and yet if she didn’t it would simply cause more trouble. These isolated times, in her favorite classroom with exquisite tea, were a blessed relief.

Of course she wished Hisao were here with her, but Hanako, Shizune, and Emi were Awake. If any of them were with him when she invited him up for tea, it had the potential to become difficult quickly. Hanako would collapse in on herself, Shizune would demand to go with them, and Emi might accept it in good graces...or might suggest she come along with a wink and a nudge to them both.

It wasn’t that things weren’t much better than before. They were, in so many ways: Hisao was finally getting used to it all, or so it seemed. He would hug her and kiss her when they were alone, they went on the occasional date, and when they were the only two Awake he would more than pleasure her. It was quite rare that it was just the two of them, though, and in all those Loops she found herself quite lonely and unsatisfied. She still had a perfectly normal teenager’s sexual drive, and more often than not it remained unsatisfied. Like this Loop.

At least it wasn’t a heartache as it had been before. She tried not to think of her other heartache, even as the very comparison brought it to mind. It was the one weight on her heart that not even Hisao could help: the fear that her family might never Loop.

The tea was rather bitter in her mouth.

The door creaked open, and Lilly turned her head towards the sound with a hopeful gasp—

“So this is where you ended up!”

—and exhaled again, perhaps a bit harshly, because it was Emi.

“Hello, Emi,” Lilly said with all the politeness she could muster, opening her eyes. “Were you looking for me?”

“No, not really,” Emi’s voice approached her, and with the scrape of a chair it became obvious she was going to sit down. So much for peace and quiet. “But now that I’m here...”

“Yes?” She knew she was being a bit snappish, but Lilly couldn’t help it.

“You’re drinking another one of your fancy teas?” Emi asked, a swiping sound suggesting she’d picked up the can of tea leaves. “Ooh, Darjeeling!”

“Yes, it’s a flavorful variety I’ve been eager to try for a few Loops now.” Lilly suspected Emi didn’t care for the intricacies of tea, and so hoped that rambling about for a minute might make her go away.

“Hmm,” Emi murmured. She sniffed the can loudly, and Lilly frowned slightly. “Citrusy,” she pronounced.

“Exactly.” Lilly closed her eyes again, taking another sip.

“Are you okay?” Emi asked, and Lilly kept the irritation off of her face. “I think Hisao’s been worried about you lately.”

“I am alright,” Lilly said in very carefully measured words, very carefully placing the teacup before her. Focusing on her manners helped her with her tensions.

“You know,” Emi said casually, “the way your heart keeps racing kinda tells me you’re lying.”

Lilly’s hands clenched together. “I’m not surprised Joseph taught you a lie-detecting technique. He seems unscrupulous enough to make use of such a thing,” Lilly snapped.

“Whew, someone’s grumpy today!” Emi laughed, although she sounded offended under the levity.

“And you’re not?” Lilly cut to the chase. If Emi was here, and wanting to talk, she was wanting to talk sex. She’d pick up on the implication.

“I just got off a workout,” Emi said with a little huff as though she might be stretching in her seat. “I’m all loose and relaxed now. You know, you seem awfully tense, all the time. Maybe a nice workout would do you some good. I could show you some interesting techniques...” By the end of that speech Emi’s voice had gotten downright sultry.

“As I have told you before,” Lilly said with anger seeping into her voice, “I am not interested. I understand it’s difficult with how Hisao struggles with having more than one of us Awake, but—“

“You picked up on that too?” Emi asked, suddenly eager. Hands slapped the table, and Lilly had the distinct impression Emi was leaning forward onto the table.

“Of course I have.” Lilly finally lost her patience. “You think I can’t tell when he’s struggling? He’s under astronomical pressure, and I honestly doubt your shenanigans are helping! He’s still coming to terms with treating us fairly, and you’re trying to egg him on into an... orgy!” The very idea disturbed her.

“I have a good reason why I’m trying to push everybody!” Now Emi sounded annoyed as well. “And it’s not just cause I’m the ‘designated pervert,’ either!”

“Enlighten me.”

“It’s not really about any of us. It’s about Hisao!” Emi paused, as if trying to gather her thoughts. “You’re right, about Hisao struggling with dealing with more than one of us at a time. I’m trying to help him, and us, get used to that idea. Even if we just started small, more than one of us with him at once—“

“None of the rest of us want that, either,” Lilly pointed out, even if she could reluctantly conclude Emi had a point. These lengthy dry stretches were getting to her, too.

“Ugh,” Emi groaned. “What about, I dunno, taking turns?”

“Taking... turns?”

“Yeah! If we both confront him at the same time, it might make him feel less guilty about ‘choosing’ one of us over the other. It wouldn’t even have to be at the same time!” Emi sounded almost too excited. How had it jumped to just her and Emi, when it had just been a hypothetical before?

“Well, hold on,” Lilly said carefully, tamping down her growing desire, “what about the other girls? We can’t just do this without asking anyone else. That would be a disaster.”

Emi gasped, blushing. “I seriously, honestly, didn’t think about that. Crap...”

* * *

Needless to say, Shizune was less than impressed with their idea, especially when it got out just how they’d come up with it. When they told Hanako, she looked like she might cry, and they mutually called off the whole thing.

But dammit if Lilly didn’t want some kind of outlet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Compiler Commentary
> 
> -2.1: Everybody needs something, and it's best to help when you can.  
-2.2: Some loops are truly unusual, strange, fantastic, and (one might say) Bizzare.  
-2.3: To have a mind is to wish to send it beyond the mind of the self.  
-2.4: Emi can focus, when it's important to her.  
-2.5: It's a very delicate situation, let's be honest here.  
-2.6: MAXIM 16: Your name is in the mouth of others. Be sure it has teeth.  
-2.7: There's a big difference between losing something and never having it in the first place.  
-2.8: Some worlds have more danger than others. But all worlds have something valuable.  
-2.9: Stealthing: When a looper decides not to ping and pretend they are unawake for whatever reason.  
-2.10: There are some things Emi takes seriously. Like, ridiculously seriously.  
-2.11: Later the band became a national phenomenon.  
-2.12: School clubs can get pretty weird.  
-2.13: The future is change, but change is growth only if the changed let it be.  
-2.14: Disney's Bolt, everyone!  
-2.15: What is a family? And can it remain through infinite repetition?  
-2.16: Let's be real, Emi had that coming. (And so did Misha.)  
-2.17: Does anybody know where I can find an online rhyming dictionary for the japanese language? Because this... this doesn't feel right to me.  
-2.18: Emi shows off, and Shizune plots. Certainly nothing to see here.  
-2.19: Hilariously enough, Shizune's the one with the most 'Anime comedy' home life.  
-2.20: There is some strain. Emi is just... trying to figure it out.
> 
> =-=-=-=-=
> 
> The Infinite Loops is a multi-setting, multi-author shared multiverse, with contributions from the Spacebattles forums. If you would like to write for the Katawa Shoujo loops, join us at the Indie Games Infinite Loops thread. If you would like to write for other fandoms, check out the Miscellaneous Infinite Loops thread and the Hub Index to see where they might be.


	3. Exploring Friendships

**3.1 Masterweaver**

* * *

**Growth**

"...hey, ah... Hanachan?"

Hanako glanced up from her book. "Oh. Hello Misha. Is something wrong?"

Misha started fiddling with her hair. "Well... I was just... wanting to ask you something. About, um... your Unawake self."

That got Hanako's attention. Slowly, carefully, she shut her book. "What... do you mean?"

"I mean, um... well... if I were to, you know, want to be friends with her, how..." Misha bit her lip. "What... degree of 'watching out for triggers' is acceptable? I mean, I know you don't--she wouldn't want to be coddled. But at the same time--"

"Why do you want to do this?"

Misha blinked.

"Answer me that," Hanako demanded, keeping herself calm.

"...I look at her, and I see you. Sort of. I mean... I look at her and she's... still nervous and quiet and shy and alone, and you... you're nervous and quiet. Not shy. Not alone. And it feels like... sure, I can help with Shizune, but--but if it's just Shizune who I'm helping with, Awake or not, I'm still... just there, you know?"

"...Just there," Hanako murmured.

"Yeah."

"...Okay. So... there's a difference between being encouraging and being condescending," Hanako started. "Saying _ 'of course _ you can do it!' like it's a given, like it should be effortless, that kind of ignores the... anxiety. Saying 'you can do it,' that praises the effort. But you shouldn't just say 'you can do it' without something being done, because that's just reward for nothing, which is also insulting..."

* * *

**3.2 Softly Shadowed, QQ post**

* * *

**Implementations**

Lilly tilted her head at the knocking on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Emi!" came an altogether too cheerful voice. "Hey, can I come in?"

"You may," Lilly replied, idly running her fingers over another line in her book.

The door creaked open and shut, a few metallic clacks marking Emi's path in. "Nice dorm you got here. I mean, I know you don't care about the aesthetics, but it looks pretty fancy."

Lilly turned toward her voice and quirked a brow. "Thank you, I suppose."

"...Soooo, I'm going to level with you. As the designated pervert, I'm here to talk about Hisao's dick."

The simple, matter-of-fact tone which Emi used brought forth an exasperated sigh from Lilly. "Of course you are."

"Obviously that's not the thing we love about him the most," Emi pointed out, a small wumph of air seating her on the desk. "But let's be real--sex is important to this whole discussion. You've fucked him, I've fucked him, Shizune, Hanako, Rin... That dick is going to be part of this whole thing no matter how we look at it. So I figured I'd consider how to factor it in to our lives."

"Mmmmhmmm."

"So: Theoretical situation one, we all go celibate. Full nun." She let out a small chuckle. "Think you can agree that's not going to happen."

Lilly felt her face warm up. "No. I've been... restraining myself quite a bit."

"Yeah, can I say holy fuck you're incredible by the way? I'm struggling as is, and you've been there since almost the beginning of our loops. So this line of thinking, it's as much for you as it is for me."

After a moment, Lilly shut her book and put it on her nightstand. "Alright. So we're agreed that there will be... some form of intimacy at some point. Which does not," she added firmly, "mean we're going to have an orgy."

"I'll get you all to agree to that eventually," Emi promised. "But that's skipping waaaaaay ahead. Now, scenario two: we all agree that Hisao can bang us all independently. Better, but it results in conflicting schedules--you know, if we even bother to schedule this." Her voice took on a mocking pitch. "'Oh I'm horny, let's go talk to the boy, oh whoops he's with one of the others, I can wait.' I mean some of us might be able to do that, but for most of us that's going to be awkward."

"Incredibly so," Lilly agreed. "Especially with Shizune and Hanako's reaction when we suggested it."

"Yeah, hurting people's feelings?" Emi shook her head. "I want sex to be fun for everyone involved, and that... yeah, I didn't think that one through. Thanks for calling me on that."

"There's Hisao's heart condition to consider as well. Even if we did convince everyone to switch off, the relief he could provide is limited."

"Yep. So there I was, trying to figure out how this could all work, and my mind drifted through a few scenarios that I'm sure yours has too--"

Ah. _ That _ was her game.

"--and suddenly it hit me: Dildos."

Lilly snorted, absently undoing her bowtie. "Dildos, really."

"Not just any dildos," Emi assured her quickly. "The fact is, we all have this one dick we have fond memories of. So why not take a mould of it?"

Lilly stood up, shuffling toward the hamper in the corner of the room. "That's one way to share Hisao's... manhood, I suppose."

"I mean obviously it's not that simple," Emi conceded. "We'd have to get the plaster, then get him erect without getting his dick... wet..."

"Of course," Lilly agreed, dropping her bow tie and socks into the hamper. "And he would have to stay aroused for however long it took for the mould to solidify."

"Yes. Well, maybe? I... think there's ways to keep erect once it's happened, I'd have to do some research..." Emi swallowed. "Uh, Lilly?"

"Yes?"

"Whyyyyy are you unbuttoning your blouse?"

"It's laundry day," Lilly replied innocently. "I do apologize if I'm making you uncomfortable."

"Oh, no, just... surprised is all. Guess this isn't a big deal for you."

"Oh no," Lilly assured her, putting the blouse in the hamper. "Not a big deal at all." She rolled her shoulders. "You were saying about Hisao's dick?"

"R-Right." Emi cleared her throat. "So, for the process, I'm kind of thinking we might need two of us. One to turn him on, and one to keep her mind about her so she can actually, uh, make the mould. That, that would be the difficult part."

"Yes, sex can be rather distracting," Lilly agreed, slipping her skirt off slowly.

"Not the only thing..."

"What was that?"

"Uh, yeah, distracting!" Emi recovered quickly. "But after we get the mould, uh, we've got a lot of options. Basic rubber dildos, uh, shaped vibrators, and that's just the solo game!"

Lilly carefully undid her bra, shrugging it down one arm. "I thought this idea had arrived specifically because arranging multiple meetings with Hisao was problematic." She let the fabric dangle from her fingers for a moment before dropping it.

"Y, yes. But. Feeldos. Double-sided dildos. If, I mean..." Emi took a deep breath. "Hisao has his heart condition, but we don't so we can fill the sexual gaps in each other's relationships _ you're doing this on purpose aren't you?!" _

"Doing what?" Lilly asked, panties already down to her knees.

"Oh don't get fresh with me. That is, that is a brazen strip-tease move that you did with your bra! I know you don't know how that looked but _ oh geeze you're kicking your panties up--" _

"Easiest way to grab them."

She took a deep breath. "You're going to make me say it, aren't you? You're teasing me. You are deliberately showing off your naked body while we're talking about dicks to turn me on, knowing full well I'm sexually frustrated and open to the possibility. Fine. Two can play at that game!"

"Oh?" Lilly turned toward her, smirking. "Are you so sure about that? I'm blind, after all."

Emi's hands slammed down on the desk. "Damn it, Lilly, are you screwing with me or do you want to screw me?!"

The blonde hummed noncommittally, strolling over to her bed. "I mean, if you're unsure about what you want--"

She growled in barely restrained frustration. "It's not _ me _ I'm unsure about."

"Oh?"

"...Real talk. I'm fine with casual sex, but I know that some people don't take sex casually. I know you're pent up, but I also know you've got... some sort of honor thing going on. I'd be perfectly fine banging you, what I want to know is if _ you'd _ be okay with it." Emi sighed. "Because if this is some sort of 'let's prank the pervert,' fine, you win, I'll go back to my dorm and rub one out. But if we do this, you have to know, for certain, that it's not going to mess up what you have with Hisao or, really, anybody else. This is you and me, okay?"

Lilly tilted her head thoughtfully. "...You're actually concerned about this."

"Of course I'm concerned! What, you think just because I'm open about wanting an orgy I just pass off sex like it doesn't matter?"

There was something about that tone that caught Lilly's attention. "Isn't that the very definition of casual sex?"

"No, I mean... just thinking of a partner as a convenient bang. Not as a person with their own feelings. The sex might not matter, but the emotions... I don't want to just love 'em and leave 'em, you know?" Her voice dropped, a hint of regret entering it. "...that... that attitude nearly ruined my... thing, with Hisao."

"...Alright."

"Alright?"

"This is you and me," Lilly said gently. "We're both pent up, we have this, we figure out where to go from here. Okay?"

"Okay. That's all I needed to know." Emi's blades clacked against the ground. "You know, _ I'm _ the designated pervert. I should be the one seducing _ you." _

"Being the designated pervert just means you have the_ ideas." _ Lilly slid her hands around Emi's shoulders. "Nobody says you're the one that _ implements _ them."

* * *

**3.3 Masterweaver**

* * *

**Would you?**

"Shizune! Buddy, pal, galpal, prez, rep, lady, genius, secretary, Shizzy!"

Shizune leveled a deadpan look at Emi.

Emi smirked. [Sorry.]

[Why do you do this.]

[Honestly? Your annoyed expression is just the most adorable thing ever.]

Shizune gave Misha an exasperated glance. Misha shrugged, grinning awkwardly.

[Anyway. Shizune, I'd like your opinion on something.]

[Yes?]

[I had a hub loop recently--man alive, is 2019 weird--and I got a copy of Katawa Shoujo.]

Shizune froze.

[I haven't played it yet!] Emi assured her quickly. [But... given how this whole... situation is, I'm wondering if I should give duplicate copies to everyone, or do a group let's play, or a solo recording and just let them watch later if they want, or not play it at all.]

Slowly, carefully, Shizune exhaled. [I think,] she signed firmly, [that you should wait until everybody is Awake, and ask the question then. To everyone. This needs to be a topic of conversation.]

[...That is totally fair,] Emi agreed. [Sorry, it's just... you were the only other girl Awake this loop--]

Misha huffed. "And what am I, chopped liver?"

_ "You _ are a glorious representation of hope and cheer contained in a wondrously crafted shell of femininity," Emi replied casually.

"Holy cow, when did _ you _ get so good at flirting?"

"Internet correspondence course."

[Did you ask Hisao what he thought?]

Emi blinked. [Huh. No. I should have, shouldn't I? I mean, he lived through all this, so... yeah, I'll ask him.]

[And everyone,] Shizune declared. [When we're all Awake.]

[Right, right. Promise. Good chat, Shizune. See you later.]

* * *

**3.4 Masterweaver**

* * *

**It'll be fine, it's culture**

"We need to do a group bonding activity every loop we're all Awake," Lilly had decided. "No Emi," she'd added quickly, "not an orgy."

"I was going to suggest we all go to a karaoke bar," Emi had replied.

And so, six girls and one boy wound up in a tight room, taking turns going on the stage.

"And that was the musical stylings of Rin, singing Moonlight Densetsu," Emi announced as the last song wound down. "Let's all give her a round of applause!"

The room filled with clapping as Rin bowed, a very silly smile on her face.

"So, Shizune, how would you rate her performance!"

Hisao pinched his brow. "Shizune is deaf, Emi, she can't hear any of the singing."

"I didn't ask about the singing," Emi replied with a smirk, "I asked about the performance."

Misha sighed, signing quickly at Shizune, who rolled her eyes.

[Rin was clearly enjoying herself as she sang, but her dance moves were a bit tired. I would say eight out of ten. And Emi?]

[Yeah?]

Shizune met her gaze and, utterly deadpan, pulled her eyelid down.

"Ha!" Emi clapped. "Fair enough! Okay, who's up next?"

"I don't think I'm quite drunk enough to show off yet," Hanako muttered. "Especially not with you cheering me on."

Lilly tapped her cheek thoughtfully. "...I actually have a small song from my last visit to my parents. Are you up for something a little western?"

Hisao shrugged. "Why not?"

"...now how to hook this into the karaoke machine without ruining the surprise..."

"Here, just..." Hanako took her arm. "Give me the phone, and I'll work out the rest."

"When did you become a technical genius?" Hisao asked.

"It's just a smartphone... where is this song, Lilly?"

"It should be the fifty-third one in my song list..."

"Ah... let me see if I'm reading this right..." Hanako "It's <Donald, where's your--?>"

"Yes, that's the one."

"Okay. It's... plugged in, selected, I'll hit play when you say."

Lilly took to the stage, carefully wrapping her hand around the microphone. "Everyone? Allow me to sing you the song of my people."

Hanako tapped the play button, and immediately the sound of an accordion reverberated through the room. Lilly cleared her throat and began to sing.

~<Iy've just coome down froom the Isle'ov Skye, I'm not v'ry big and Iy'm awful shy, and the lassies shout when Iy go by _ Donald, where's your troosers?! _>~

~<Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low, through the streets in'my'kilt, Iy'll go. All the lassies say hello, _ Donald, where's your troosers?! _>~

"Thick brouge," Emi noted. "You think she's exaggerating?"

~<A lassie took me to a ball and it'was slipp'ry in the hall and Iy was feared that Iy would fall, for Iy had nae on my troosers!>~

~<Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low, through the streets in'my'kilt, Iy'll go. All the lassies say hello, _ Donald, where's your troosers?! _>~

Rin leaned into her chair, letting the rhythm of the words pour over her. Sure, she hadn't bothered to fully learn english yet, and the accent made it that much more incomprehensible, but music was less about what was said and more about what was heard anyway.

~<Now Iy went down to London Town and Iy'had'soome fun in'the'nderground. The ladies turned their heads around saying, _ Donald, where are your trousers?! _>~

~<Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low, through the streets in'my'kilt, Iy'll go. All the lassies say hello, _ Donald, where's your troosers?! _>~

"This must be some sort of masterpiece," Misha breathed. "Lilly sings it so beautifully..."

~<To wear the kilt is my delight. I'tis'not wrong Iy know it's right! The Highlanders would get a fright iv they saw me in the troosers!>~

~<Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low, through the streets in'my'kilt, Iy'll go. All the lassies say hello, _ Donald, where's your troosers?! _>~

If anybody had bothered to look at Hanako, they would have seen her pressing her lips together tightly in a desperate attempt to keep herself from giggling. Fortunately for her, everyone was focused on Lilly, calmly and elegantly starting on the final verse.

~<The lassies want me, every one; well, let them catch me iv they can! You canna take the breaks ov a Highland man, and Iy don't wear the troosers!>~

~<Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low, through the streets in'my'kilt, Iy'll go. All the lassies say hello, _ Donald, where's your troosers?! Donald, where's your troosers?! Donald, where's your troooooooseeeeeeers?! _>~

She placed the mike back in its stand, bowing politely to the applause.

Hisao quirked a brow. "That was interesting."

"Really?"

"The song of your people, you said."

Lilly nodded. "A true, celebrated classic."

"About a man who doesn't wear pants?"

The room fell dead silent for a moment. Slow realization dawned on the watcher's faces as they all looked from him to Lilly.

She smiled--not quite a smirk, but definitely a smile filled with mischief. "Well what did you expect? Iy'm scottish, luvs!"

* * *

**3.5 Awesomedude17**

* * *

**Pisces**

"Rin, do you know what the Zodiac is?" Emi asked.

"Uh uh," Rin replied, paintbrush in her mouth.

"Well Hisao got a book on it recently and I noticed something about it."

"Hmmm?"

"You were born on March 13th, right?"

Rin placed the brush down. "Your point?"

"Well Pisces, people who were born between February 20th to March 20th tend to be quirky, romantics, can say things that makes it hard to get a read on them, imaginative, that sort of thing. Basically an artist."

"So I born to be an artist?"

"Yep."

"Why does it matter why I'm an artist? I'm an artist and that's what matters."

"Uh... shit, good point."

"So why aren't you like me?"

"Uh... shit. That's also a good point."

"You're weird, Emi." Rin got back to painting.

_ Ouch. Called weird by the one everyone calls weird. _ Emi faux winced before laughing it off.

* * *

**3.6 Awesomedude17**

* * *

[Katawa Shoujo x Fate]

**The Golden Throne**

Shizune and Misha looked over the blonde man who had kidnapped them.

“Allow me to introduce myself to you two. I am Gilgamesh.”

As Misha translated for Shizune, the deaf mute gave Gilgamesh a look.

[Right then. Why’d you kidnap us?]

“Because many others have been gaining apprentices and I have decided that I need one myself and I have decided on you, Shizune Hakamichi!”

Shizune had an incredulous look once Misha translated for her.

[Me? Of all people?]

“You have the right mindset for the purpose. Admit it. I’m never wrong.”

[I doubt that.]

[Shizune, I’m going to find a restroom. Give me a moment.]

[Alright Misha.]

Misha promptly asked where the restroom was and Gilgamesh simply pointed at a door. Upon entering the restroom, she promptly got a confused look as she realized what she was looking at.

“Gilgamesh, is this what I think it is?”

“Depends on what you’re asking about?”

“Oh nothing. Just the fact that there was a news report of a stolen solid gold toilet and there’s one here.”

Shizune looked into the bathroom and blinked in surprise.

"This toilet is mine by right, Mongrel!”

After getting caught up, Shizune promptly decided to let him know what she thought of his decision.

Needless to say, it was such a ubiquitous gesture that even a non-deaf person could understand it.

Gilgamesh laughed it off.

“Oh, young one. I made a perfect decision.”

* * *

**3.7 Masterweaver**

* * *

**Practical Skills**

Shizune looked at her empty in-tray. Then at her filled out-tray. Then at her finished homework. Then at the clock.

She leaned back in her chair, flicking her pen idly in one hand. Was there anything else she could do...

An idea flickered into her head, and she almost dismissed it. Almost. But something about it gnawed at her. It was something... something she couldn't quite put her finger on, that drew her to it.

After a moment, she sat forward, opening a drawer and pulling out a sheet of paper. She adjusted her glasses as she examined it, tapping her pencil against the chair thoughtfully. This... could work, actually. At the least, it would be a practical skill. And a start towards...

Well.

But did she really want to subject herself to this? The others would likely tease her for it, if she actually went all the way through with the plan. Then again... maybe they wouldn't.

Shizune considered the paper for a moment longer... then she shrugged and started filling it out. A car was easy enough to start with--she could always figure out how to drive a tank later.

* * *

**3.8 Masterweaver**

* * *

**Anime Society**

"...So, question. Who here would be okay with me coming up behind them at random times and groping their boobs?"

Misha groaned, giving Emi a flat look. "Really? Really? Why would you even--"

"Judging everyone's openness," Emi said casually.

[You do it and I will defenestrate you,] Shizune informed her.

[So you're okay with me doing it so long as you get retribution,] Emi countered with a smirk. [Good to know!]

[That is not what I meant and you know it!]

"I'm okay with it."

Emi blinked. "Wow, thanks Rin!"

"You already see me naked," Rin continued blandly. "Just don't do it while I'm painting."

"You are a real friend, Rin, really."

Misha put her head in her hands. "Oh my god. Emi. Just... don't, okay?"

"I never said I was going to, I just asked if you'd be okay with it. It seems like a standard anime trope."

[You really shouldn't get your ideas from anime.]

Emi snickered. [You're one to talk!]

Shizune frowned, adjusting her glasses. [What do you mean by that?]

[Your dad carries a katana and shouts a lot. Your brother dresses effeminately and speaks like a robot. Your cousin is a gorgeous and polite half-foreign blonde. Your best friend is a bouncy cheerful pink-haired lesbian with a ridiculously loud laugh. You yourself are the overworked goal-oriented blue-haired glasses-wearing head of the student council who happens to be dating a guy who got dropkicked into the traditional harem comedy 'oh crap I'm dating all these girls' scenario.] Emi leaned back. [Face it, Shizune--your life is the most anime of all of us.]

Shizune gaped at her, her hands fluttering through half-formed and aborted sentences as she tried to deny the words. She shook a finger at the grinning Emi, eyes darting around the room while she tried to construct a counter-argument. Eventually the finger pointed at Rin, almost desperately.

[Her? Nah. She may be an anime character, ish, but Rin has a pretty normal external life.]

"It's true," Rin said, "though increasingly less so."

"What?" Misha finally looked up. "What's going on?"

"I just told Shizune how anime her life is," Emi explained. "She is doing the thing where she disagrees."

"...huh." Misha nodded slowly. "Now that you mention it... Shicchan's life does seem pretty outrageous, compared to the rest of us..."

Shizune turned to her. [Misha! Tell Emi that I'm not an anime character! You don't think I am, right?]

Misha blinked. She grinned, awkwardly. [Uh... well... you would make a cute Yuki Nagato...?]

Shizune stared at her. She stared at Rin. She stared at Emi.

Stiffly, automatically, she walked out the door.

"...O-kay then..." Emi cleared her throat. "We should keep an eye on her for a bit."

"This is your fault," Misha pointed out.

"Yeah, but I don't think she's going to want me around..."

* * *

**3.9 Masterweaver**

* * *

**That's one way to handle things**

"...I am once again going to motion--"

"We are not," Hanako ground out, "having an orgy!"

Emi gestured broadly. "Come on! When is this ever going to happen again?!"

"Gyuh! This is weird enough without bringing sex into it!"

[Not my fetish anyway,] Shizune deadpanned.

Hisao sighed. "Girls, look, this is weird for me too."

"Weirder even," said Hisao. "I mean... am I going to remember all of this next loop?"

"I looked it up," Hisao assured the two of them. "It's a Mikasa glitch, apparently, and yes, we are all going to be the same Hisao in the next loop."

"Oh, it's a known phenomenon?" Emi smirked. "That means it'll happen again. Okay, I can wait."

Hanako gave a frustrated growl, throwing up her hands and stalking off--although she did snatch one of the Hisao's by the arm as she did so.

"Get him a different tie!" Emi shouted after her. "So we can tell him apart from all the others!" She turned to Shizune. [We are going to be taking a Hisao apiece, right?]

[That seems reasonable,] Shizune agreed.

[Isn't that demeaning to us?] signed one of the boys. [I mean we are still people, even if we're split up into multiple copies of myself.]

Shizune considered for a moment, before shrugging. [You're right, I'm sorry. What do you think we should do with this event?]

Hisao opened his mouth, glanced at Hisao, and then shrugged. [I... guess one of us can hang out with each of you for the rest of the loop.]

"And swap ties," Emi added. "So we can tell you all apart. The one of you that winds up with Lilly should have braille on your tie. Actually, we could make our ties themed..." She took another Hisao. "I'm thinking something that says 'speed.' Like a lightning-pattern tie or something. Ooo, and Rin's Hisao could have a paintbrush on hers..."

* * *

**3.10 Masterweaver**

* * *

**Sometimes, you miss the obvious**

It was a perfectly ordinary day at Yamaku academy. Aside from the dinosaurs.

"So..." Hisao looked around carefully. "How did this happen?"

"Rin opened a portal in time."

"What?"

Hanako crossed her arms. "Rin. Opened a portal. In time."

"...How?"

"I painted it," Rin explained.

"What loop did you get that ability from?"

Rin tilted her head. "Not sure, actually. I never bothered to ask."

* * *

**3.11 Masterweaver**

* * *

**Unspoken Tragedy**

[You alright, Shicchan?] Misha gave her a somber look. [After what happened--]

[I'm--I'm alright.] Shizune shook her head. [I'm alright, I just... I... it was a lot to handle. But... thanks, for... thanks.]

Hanako glanced between them. "Um... what--?"

"Last loop," Misha said quietly. "Jigoro... apparently he, uh, had some sort of stroke and died."

"Oh."

Hanako reached out, hesitating only briefly before putting a hand on Shizune's shoulder. The girl looked over, taking in Hanako's expression, and turned away with a huff--but there was, beneath the annoyance, something she recognized.

"Hanako--"

"It's okay," she reassured Misha. "I've... been here, I know what it's like."

"...You--your unawake self, I mean, you and Emi were... very helpful last loop. You more than her, Emi seemed kind of distant... she doesn't like being serious, I guess. I don't think Shicchan would have gotten through without--"

"Shiina." Hanako looked the pinkette straight in the eye. "I might not have been Awake, but I know you were just as needed--if not more so."

"I... well." She fiddled with her hair. "I guess..."

[Whatever you two are talking about doesn't matter,] Shizune said, not looking up. [He's back this loop.]

Hanako shook her head, lifting up Shizune's chin. [It does matter, because even if it didn't affect the rest of the world... it affected you.]

[Maybe. But that's in the past--]

[The past can still have an impact. I know that...] Hanako glanced away. [...I know that a lot better than most people.]

[...I... I'll be okay.]

[Okay. But if you ever need--]

[Thank you, but... it's alright.]

* * *

**3.12 Softly Shadowed, QQ post**

* * *

**Elucidation**

"So..." Emi huffed, laying her head down on Lilly's breasts. "...that just happened."

"Yes."

"...I had fun, did you have fun?"

Lilly chuckled. "Yes. A lot more then... then I thought I would, honestly."

"Oh?"

"I mean, well... you're a girl. I didn't think I swung that way."

"Oh, yeah, that. So I did some research and apparently, the whole thing? It's a scale. Most of us are at least a little gay."

"Right." Lilly stroked Emi's shoulderblade absently. "So..."

"...do you want to talk about this?"

"Maybe. I mean... I'm not sure how I feel about this. Honestly, this did start with..." Lilly sighed. "When I started taking off my clothes, I was just... you were teasing me, so I started teasing you."

"What, like a game of chicken? With sex? Sex chicken?"

"What the heck is a sex chicken?"

"More questions for the research pile," Emi replied, clearly amused.

"No, I'm serious. What's a game of chicken?"

"Oh. Right, it's..." Emi's voice fell. "It's the challenge to back down. Like, two cars driving right at each other, and the first one to turn away loses, but if neither does, they... smash into each other."

Lilly clutched her closer. "Oh my god. That sounds... terrible."

"Yeah, that's the usual example, but it's the principle that matters. Salsa challenges, competitive weight-lifting..." Emi's voice fell back into its usual dry humor. "Seeing how far we can tease each other before somebody says 'hey, TMI, let's not bang.'"

"...well, I guess I like this version of the game," Lilly mused. "After all, the price of both losing is... fun."

"Yeah.... I mean, technically I was willing to bow out at the end, but... you decided to go for it. Uh... why did you go for it, by the way?"

"...I'm... not entirely sure," Lilly admitted. "Part of it was just that you were so obviously turned on and needed something, part of it was... well, I have been pent up a lot, yes. But it was fun," she reassured Emi quickly.

"Was it... fun enough that you'd want to go again? Like not right now, but... later, maybe?"

"...maybe. If... I get really pent up again. But... I don't know. I always thought of myself as the responsible girl, but with... this... suddenly, I'm..."

"Confused." Emi sighed. "You know what, that's okay. Look, you know I'm always open if you want another go, or to talk about this sort of thing--or just to avoid the conversation."

Lilly nodded. "...yeah. You are, aren't you."

"Yep."

"Hmmm." Lilly nodded thoughtfully. "...Should we tell the others about... this?"

"I... don't know," Emi admitted. "I mean obviously I would be fine with it, but... if you think it would hurt them..."

"...It might," Lilly mused. "I don't know. But... that's part of having relationships, isn't it? Sometimes, people will say or do something that hurts, but they never mean to. And they try to avoid... doing that again."

"...so we should tell them?"

"We should tell Hisao," Lilly decided. "And wait until everyone's Awake to tell the others."

"That makes sense."

"...Emi?"

"Yes?"

"...Do you want to screw all of us?"

Emi chuckled. "Am I aiming for a perfect polycue where we all just regularly form fuckpiles, you mean?"

Lilly huffed, lightly bapping Emi's head. "I'm serious."

"Okay." Emi sat up, straddling Lilly's stomach. "Look, yes, I intend to have sex with all the girls Hisao's banged at least once. Yes, I'm counting Misha in that. But I know that it's not going to be permanent for most of them."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, logistically? All of us sharing Hisao, and only Hisao, it's never going to work. We have to see what else we want--at least sexually, maybe not romantically. I'm trying to open doors--not force them open, not keep them open, but at least open them once and let everyone decide if they want to stay on their own. Like... this? If you decide 'holy heck, I can't fuck a girl without legs it feels too weird,' then I'll be like 'well that hurts a little, but I get where you're coming from' and never bang you again."

Lilly smiled wryly. "Unless we have an orgy."

"You said it, not me. Point is... Point is, I flirt a lot, because I want other people to step through the door. You're the one who agreed in the end--sure, I was... talking about dicks and sex, but, you know, I said I'd be willing to step out if you didn't want to go all the way. And you are friggin' hot, not going to lie, but... you've experienced this. You've experienced me. So if you want to experience it again, I'm not going to be demanding. Door is open, but you have to step through."

"Even if you're the one that wants to?"

"Yeah... but this isn't about what I want. It's about... what's best for all of us. And if that's us having regular sex to deal with being so pent up, sure! If it isn't, I'm cool with that too."

Lilly sat up, absently sliding Emi down so her knees wrapped around her waist. "So... just to make sure I understand what you want. Do you have any _ standards _ for who you'll bed?"

"Well, you know, there's the usual 'no kids, animals, or dead people' rules, Safe Sane and Consensual is a must, we have to all be having fun, I don't want to be a homewrecker in any way so no going after people in relationships unless everyone involved is okay with it, and I don't do anal. Period."

"You've thought about this a lot, haven't you?"

"Hey, I am the designated pervert."

"So... you just want everyone to experiment."

"To be _ comfortable _ with experimenting," Emi clarified.

"And this was an experiment," Lilly continued. "To see if us having sex helped relieve the tension."

"You could say that, yeah. Certainly helped for me."

"Of course," Lilly mused, "if we want to see if this would work, we... could engage regularly, for this loop at least."

"S-sure." Emi laughed. "Yeah. That would make sense."

"You know, I'm still not sure how I feel about having sex with a legless girl," Lilly said, leaning forward with a small smirk. "Maybe should test that out some more."

"Holy shit, are you still horny?"

"Yes. Yes I am."

"Huh. I mean I like having a lot of sex, but I like to spread it out--"

"If you're saying you don't want to--"

"No! I'm fine for another go, I'm just... surprised. Wow, no wonder you were so pent up. You must have will of iron--"

"Emi?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to keep babbling," Lilly asked, "or are you going to fuck me?"

For a moment, Emi was silent. Then she drew Lilly in close. "Okay, but do you want me to do anything different this time? Cause last time was pretty generic--"

"I'll tell you where to start," Lilly promised, drawing her fingers down Emi's spine.

* * *

**3.13 Masterweaver**

* * *

**She's a right tease, I'll tell ya what**

"Emi?"

"Yes, Hisao?"

"The girls have said you're being... a bit too, uh..."

Emi grinned sardonically. "A bit too open about wanting to bang them all?"

Hisao blushed. "Yes."

"And they sent you to tell me to cut it out."

"Actually, I decided to come myself."

"Fair enough." Emi rolled her shoulders. "I guess I might be coming on as a bit too strong. I'll try to cut back."

Hisao crossed his arms. "Or you could just stop entirely."

"I could..."

Emi suddenly grabbed his shoulders, pressing in.

"...but then I would be focusing that part of me entirely. On. You."

Hisao blushed. "E-Emi, the others are Awake--"

"Oh I'm not going to do anything you don't agree to," she purred, a sultry look in her eyes. "And the next loop it's just us two..."

"I, uh, Emi--"

"Shhhhh." A finger pressed against his lips. "Don't you worry." Her hand crawled up his arm. "I... can... wait."

Hisao's breath hitched as she stroked his jaw...

...then, with an incredibly cheeky smirk, she stepped back, waved, and walked casually down the hall.

"...Damn it." He groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "This--she--gaaaaaaaaaaaah. I need a shower..."

* * *

**3.14 Masterweaver**

* * *

**Points of Discussion**

Emi took a long, obnoxious sip of the smoothie in her hand through the plastic straw, very deliberately pretending not to notice the glares turned toward her. With exaggerated satisfaction, she let her lips part and tilted the cup away from her mouth.

"Really?" Hanako leveled a flat look at her. "Really, Emi?"

"Really really."

Lilly sighed. "So... we're all Awake. Is there anything anybody wants to bring up?"

Emi rose a finger. "Actually, I have a few things."

Shizune rolled her eyes. [A few things?]

"To start off with the most embarrassing question first, I just want to clarify something: we've all been banging Hisao if we wake up and he's the only other looper Awake, right?"

"Wh-wh-what?!" Hanako blushed furiously. "Emi, why are you--how could you--?"

"It's a yes or no question," Emi pointed out calmly. "Cause I know I've been, just wanted to be fair."

[That is an absolutely ridiculous question to ask,] Shizune pointed out. [Why should we even entertain the idea?]

"I'm noticing nobody is actually answering the question," Emi observed. "Just pointing out it's ridiculous."

"I haven't," Misha said.

Emi smiled wryly at her. "Cute."

"I have indulged," Rin revealed casually. "Not every time it was just us, but the times it was just us and I needed it."

She took in the stares and shrugged. "Emi's plant powers let her detect lies."

"Oh come on!" Emi snapped, though she still wore a grin. "It's no fun when I can't tease them!"

Lilly sighed. "I have... also taken advantage of private time."

Hanako balked, turning toward her. "Lilly--"

"I'm sorry, it's just... this is emotionally complicated, and... and if it's just us two, at the least I... it doesn't--"

"It does, though," Emi said, her smile gone. "See, even if we've agreed we need to figure this out, the fact is we're still tiptoeing around it. That's why we're sneaking kisses where we think the rest of us can't see, because we're all still scared to bring it to the light. Hanako?"

Hanako looked between her and Lilly, swallowing nervously. She lowered her head with a blush, hiding behind her hair. "...okay... yes... I have too."

"I'm not mad," Lilly assured her. "I'm not even disappointed, really, this is--"

"You should be," Hanako muttered. "We all should be. This is--this... I don't know."

Emi sighed, turning to Shizune. [Everyone's admitted to it--well, Misha admitted to not doing it. How about you? Private loops with Hisao, sexytimes or no?]

Shizune inhaled deeply, letting out a long, low breath, but she nodded. [Very well, you're right, I have too. What is your point?]

"My point," Emi said, and signed for Shizune's sake, "is that we all need to agree that this happens. That it's acceptable, when it's just one of us and Hisao at the very least. Because otherwise we're just going to keep trying to hide it and deny it and _ not trust each other. _ Bad enough for an ordinary group of friends, and even worse for loopers."

"Why did the multiverse have to break?" Lilly grumbled. "Why did we get dropped into all this drama?"

"...hell if I know."

Rin tilted her head, peering at Emi's face.

"What?" Emi leaned back. _ "What?" _

"....it can wait," the armless girl decided. "Not long, but we can get through this meeting first."

"Fine. So..." Emi cleared her throat. "Speaking of the broken multiverse, I've got another thing I want to bring up. I had a near-hub loop and..." She produced a small USB drive. "I got a copy of Katawa Shoujo."

The girls all tensed.

"I haven't," she stressed, "played it yet. I did talk to Hisao about it, and he... he thinks that no matter what else we decide, he wants to be there to, uh, do damage control whenever one of us opens the game. You know, since it's going to pry into his thoughts on every path. Apart from that--"

"Do we have to play it?" Hanako asked. "I mean... it's not like we don't all already know what's in it."

"We do and we don't," Lilly admitted. "The outline, yes, but... any looper could get that, play everything, and _ then _ meet us. Do we... if we know about this, then... at the least, we know where they're coming from when they ask embarrassing questions..."

"I could play it myself," Emi offered. "Just write up a summary of hot points, if--"

[No.] Shizune shook her head. [You are too... _ you _ to be objective. If we want to go that route I would suggest somebody who can remain analytical in the face of extreme emotion.]

[What, like you?]

Shizune adjusted her glasses. [Perhaps.]

"We reeeeeeally don't need to," Hanako said. "I mean... um... really."

Emi sighed. "Okay, no matter what we decide, we agree not to play routes of anybody who hasn't explicitly agreed, alright?"

"I can concede to that," Rin allowed. "I would prefer to see my own portrayal before allowing others to see it."

"Yeah, I..." Misha blushed. "I know there's one... path... where I, uh... you know. And the thing is, I _ don't _ remember that timeline. I'd rather see that for myself before deciding if..."

She trailed off.

"...yeah." Emi nodded. "Okay, Lilly?"

"Yes?"

She took the girl's hand and put the USB drive into it. "You hold onto that, and you get to be in charge of how we handle the Visual Novel stuff. I mean, you'd probably be the least likely to abuse it."

Lilly gave her a sardonic smile. "Of course." She wrapped her fingers around the small device and let it vanish into her subspace pocket.

Hanako let out a slow sigh. "Alright, alright. So, Emi, you have any other mind-breaking announcements?"

Emi cleared her throat. "Well... there was oooooooooooooooooooooone otheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing..." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, taking another obnoxious drag of her smoothie. "What was it... I'm sure it was incredibly important..."

Lilly sighed. "You're going to make me say it, aren't you?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Cause they wouldn't believe it coming from me."

"...I hate that you have a point." Lilly took a breath and composed herself. "Emi and I have had sex with each other."

Hanako, Misha, Shizune, and even Rin stared at her in astonished silence.

"It was a spur of the moment kind of thing," Emi admitted. "We were both pent up, so we kinda teased each other, one thing led to another..."

"The two of us are, admittedly, the ones with the most... _ intense _ urges," Lilly continued. "We... well, thought it might be a way to bleed off the tension."

"Doesn't have to mean anything," Emi agreed. "Still figuring it out. But given that our lives have irrevocably become a wacky harem anime dramedy, we figured we'd put that out there in the open so there isn't a comedy of errors that leads to tragic heartbreak or whatever."

Hanako swallowed. "W...well. Um. What... what you two do... with each other... is your own business, I guess..."

[I was not expecting that,] Shizune admitted. [Out of all the things Lilly could have done...]

Misha was as pink as her hair, eyes darting wildly between the two. "Uh, yeah. Uh... I... do you mind if I ask you two questions later?"

"I'm cool if Lilly's cool," Emi replied.

"I... suppose we could talk," Lilly allowed.

"I'm honestly surprised Emi got to Lilly first," Rin admitted. "I would have thought she'd try to go after me."

Emi laughed. "Oh, I'm going after everyone, Lilly's just the first to strike back."

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKAY!" Hanako slammed her hands on the table. "I motion that we move past the sex-related and embarrassing part of the meeting and talk about, uh, whatever else we need to talk about! Did anybody get new powers?"

Rin tilted her head. "I have told everyone about my tongue, right?" She let her tongue extend out a couple of meters. "Thif if hafway af far af ith shof!"

"Yes! Tongue! That--no, Emi," Hanako pre-empted, "you don't get to say anything! It is a cool superpower _ and nothing else!" _

* * *

**3.15 Masterweaver**

* * *

**Idle Observations**

"Have you noticed how Emichan seems to be stirring up all the drama?" Misha asked casually. "I mean, not all of it, but a lot of it."

Rin nodded, absently painting another streak on the easel. "There's a lot of reasons for that, and I don't think she's realized all of them."

"I think it's because she was the last of... well, of you all to Activate," Misha admitted. "I know I activated after her, don't get me wrong, but Emi is part of the circle of Paramours, and she probably feels like she started in last place."

"I don't think she would like us ranking ourselves in Hisao's heart."

"Not consciously, no, but... like, she's a runner, right? Even with what happened, she just keeps running, moving forward. She pushes everyone to move forward, but she pushes herself most of all. And right now, she's... just hit the start of a new track, so she's trying to get a feel for herself and the other runners. Which are the rest of us loopers." Misha shook her head with a chuckle. "I mean I guess 'drama' is the wrong word. There aren't... there are _ emotions, _ but it's more like 'oh what's Emi done this time?' All the time."

"She does value attention," Rin agreed, stroking her paint just a few more times against the easel. "Shizune values purpose. I value... hmm. Expression?"

"You're going to go on another wordhunt, aren't you?"

"Part of my mind is drifting, yes. But there is enough here to hear." Rin tilted her head. "I'm feeling more comfortable talking to loopers. Not comfortable enough to submerge my speech fully in my thoughts, but enough to know that I can talk without being forced to talk in ways that I don't know how to talk."

Misha nodded. "Yeah... I sort of get that. I mean... I like being the happy and energetic pinkette because... it's fun. But... it's also not entirely who I am. I don't want to say it's a mask, that implies it's fake, but..."

"A shell?"

"...Yeah, that's a good word. Like a turtle or something."

"I was thinking a snail."

Misha giggled. "A snail? A snail... I... Do you think I would make a good-looking snail?"

"Maybe."

"Hmmm." Misha looked at her still blank sketchpad. "Maybe I should draw myself as a snail."

"You could," Rin said, a small smile playing on her face.

"How would I do that?" Misha asked, tapping her chin with a pencil thoughtfully. "I mean, the shell would be pink, obviously, and drill-shaped, but what would the snail part look like? Should I give it cartoonish eyes?"

"You could," Rin repeated, quietly making another stroke.

"Hmmm." Misha almost started sketching. "...I dunno. Maybe I should draw a cat."

"And there it is," Rin murmured under her breath.

"What?"

"Words." Rin stretched her leg out and dunked paintbrush in a small can of water, scraping it clean before dipping it into blue. "You were using them."

"...I... was...?" Misha gave her a confused look, before visibly shrugging and moving on. "So... what were we talking about?"

"Nothing in particular."

"I mean, yeah, but I felt like we were talking about something. Uh... I don't know, have you played any good video games recently?"

"Dance Dance Revolution."

"Oh--OH! Yeah, that would be fun, I guess! Maybe we should all do that together--no, wait, Lilly couldn't see the screen, and would the pad even register Emi...?"

* * *

**3.16 Tetradrachm**

* * *

**Classmates**

“You think he really likes me?” Molly asked, leaning forward and keeping her voice low.

Misha smiled as brightly as she could—which was to say, not all that sincerely. “I’m sure he does. But I’ll check with Suzu to be sure. She knows him better than me.”

That was true—this Loop. Last Loop, Molly and Suzu had been best friends, and Molly had never come by to ask Misha about her chances with Takashi. The Loop before, Molly hadn’t even been interested in Takashi (although to be fair that was unusual), instead preferring Taro.

The vast majority of the students at Yamaku were Loop Variable in every way, but even the scarce few like Molly that weren’t still Varied in every way beyond their name and appearance. Their personalities, who they were friends with, what they liked to do—they were always different.

Misha had had fun at first getting to know them each time around, but even though she still liked making friends with them and learning what was different now she just felt bad for them all. They’d almost certainly never Activate, so these people she got to know each Loop just vanished and were transformed into someone new every time. Dealing with them now was always just a little bit uncomfortable.

The least she could do was make sure they all ended up happy.

She knew Takashi liked Molly back this Loop, and odds were good they’d be a happy couple soon thanks to her setting them up. Even if these two versions of them would only exist for a few more months, they’d be as fulfilled as Misha could help them to be.

As Molly strolled across the room to Suzu, a real smile blossomed on Misha’s face.

* * *

**3.17 Awesomedude17**

* * *

[Rick & Morty][Katawa Shoujo]

**A Bizarre Message to All of Yggdrasil from Rick Sanchez of Dimension C-137**

_ Dear Loopers and Anchors of Yggdrasil _

_ If I catch a single one of you shitting in my toilet, I will hunt you down and you will regret everything. _

_ Don’t believe me? Ask The Postal Dude. Found it while traveling with that Predator motherfucker, and I found out. _

_ Now he avoids me every time we’re in the same place. _

_ Never shit in my toilet. _

Rin finished reading it out loud, just as confused as everyone else.

“Why would he bother sending us that if we don’t even know who he is?” Lilly asked.

Emi shrugged. “I dunno. I heard Rick’s so irrational that he makes Kenji look sane.”

Hisao dreaded that thought given what that message said.

* * *

**3.18 Masterweaver**

* * *

[Katawa Shoujo][Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid]

**They are called blades, after all**

"Who. The fuck. Stole my legs."

Hisao flinched at the barely restrained girl in a wheelchair. "I don't know, Emi, but I promise--"

"You'll find them, or get me some blades, I appreciate it, but what I want to know is _ who the fuck stole my legs." _

"It wouldn't be any of us," Hanako pointed out. "And honestly, I'm just as incensed. You don't just... steal prosthetics!"

Emi took a breath, and let it out slowly. "Hanako. You're sweet. You're on my side. I don't want to yell at you. So let me make this clear: I do not want to be comforted or assuaged or whatever, I want to be angry, because I really want to know **who the FUCK stole my LEGS!"**

Hisao frowned for a moment, but whatever he would have said was cut off when Rin entered the room.

"I have located the legs," she announced. "I will need assistance retrieving them."

Hanako tilted her head. "Uh... don't you have that, uh, tongue thing now?"

"Yes...?"

"...okay then."

"Take me to them," Emi growled.

=-=-=-=

It was a short trip to a field, made only slightly difficult by the wheelchair. Emi had remained silent throughout the entire journey, her focused glare following Rin as she led them. Now at last it fell upon the interloper.

Interlopers.

Two girls, with tails and horns, were dueling, using Emi's prosthesis as makeshift swords. One was blond with pink locks and a body that marked her as adult; the other had violet hair and seemed almost a child.

Emi inhaled slowly. Carefully. Methodically. She took a water bottle from the pocket attached to the wheelchair and sipped.

Then with absolute focus, she spat two streams with the force of a punch behind them, slamming into the pair.

It didn't really do anything but get their attention. The older one seemed rather confused to be assaulted, walking up to the group and tilting her head. "Hello, have we met?"

"No, but _ you _ are swordfighting _ with my legs." _

The woman looked down at the object in her hand. "...what?"

"My legs," Emi explained flatly. "Those are prosthetic legs. For me to walk with."

"Hm." The woman looked at her knees. "I _ was _ wondering about the unusual grip."

"Are you sure these aren't hookswords?" asked the smaller girl. "They look like hookswords."

"Yes," Emi stated flatly. "They are not hookswords."

The woman turned to the girl accusingly. "You said you got these from an armory."

"How is a locker room like an armory?" Emi demanded.

"There were weapons!" the girl protested. "Clubs and padding!"

"For sports! Even if these were weapons, which they're _ not, _ why would you take them?!"

"That is a very good point," the woman agreed.

The girl shrugged. "Other people were taking the clubs. I thought it was 'borrow and return.'

Emi groaned. "...Kid, I just... just give me back my legs."

* * *

**3.19 Skaz Wolfman**

* * *

[Katawa Shoujo][Doki Doki Literature Club!]

**–Off-Beat Hearts, Part 1–**

Monika Woke Up standing outside a fancy iron gate. Skimming her Loop Memories, she frowned. _ ‘Congenital heart defect and arrhythmia. Nasty business, that. Special school that accommodates handicapped students. May as well attend, bound to meet some interesting characters. Speaking of which,’ _ she thought before sending the Ping. She got ten back. _ ‘Whew, full house.’ _ She Unpocketed a cellphone and sent out a group text to Sayori, Yuri, and Natsuki.

_ Woke & [anchor emoji]’d. Any1 else @ Yamaku? _

Within a minute, all three of her club members replied with various affirmations. Monika nodded, and passed through the gate. She met one of the teachers, Mr. Mutou, and he led her to her classroom. She immediately spotted Yuri and Natsuki…wait, no, the purple-haired girl with the burn scars was too short to be Yuri, and the pink-haired girl she had initially taken for Natsuki was too…well-endowed. _ There _ were Yuri and Natsuki, sitting next to each other with Yuri sitting on the far left end of the back row.

“Hello, everyone! I’m Monika Nakai, and I look forward to learning with you all. I’m a serious literature buff, and during my recent hospital visit I got totally hooked on this kind of obscure fantasy time-travel novel called _ The Loops of Yggdrasil _ by Iman Anker. If anyone else here is familiar with it, I’d love to discuss it with you after classes. Okay, everyone, that’s all from me for now,” she said for her self-introduction, before taking the ‘seat next to Hakamichi’ as directed by Mr. Mutou.

Later on, in the cafeteria, Monika met up with Yuri and Natsuki, as well as three of their classmates: the purple-haired girl with the scars, the blue-haired girl with glasses Monika had sat next to her, and her boisterous pink-haired companion. Yuri and Natsuki sat on the same side of the lunch table as Monika, while the other three sat opposite them.

[Very smooth introduction, Monika. I’m Shizune Hakamichi, one of the local Loopers] the blue-haired girl said in Japanese Sign Language.

Even as Shizune’s friend was translating for her, Monika replied in kind, [Thank you, Shizune. I’ve been sitting on that one for a long time now, and this seemed like a perfect time to use it.]

“Oh, neat! You know sign language, too,” observed the pink-haired one. “I’m Shiina Mikado, but my friends call me Misha.”

“I’m fluent in many languages, ASL and JSL included,” Monika said primly.

“Hanako Ikezawa, pleased to meet you,” supplied the purple-haired one with just a hint of apprehension.

“I’m Natsuki,” said Natsuki, “And the tall drink of fine grape wine next to me is Yuri. We’re from the same Branch as Moni, of course.” She turned to Monika. “Sayori’s not a student here, she’s a librarian for the school, apparently.”

Monika nodded at Natsuki, and then frowned. She leaned in front of Natsuki and pressed the back of her hand against Yuri’s forehead. “Are you feeling well, Yuyu?” she asked, “You’re as pale as printer paper.”

“This Loop has temporarily promoted me from morbid to co-morbid,” Yuri sighed in reply. “Anemic hemophiliac…and what’s worst of all, my tactile senses are all dulled to near-oblivion. _ All of them_. I could very easily cut myself on something in passing and bleed out without ever realizing it until it’s too late.”

“I’ve got a mother_ fucker _ of a triple-whammy, too,” Natsuki grumped, “celiac disease and Type 1 dia- _ fucking _-betes of the ‘sugar may as well be cyanide’ variety, with some made-up-word-sounding thing called anosmia–”

“Oh, you poor dear,” Monika gasped.

“Ah, so you’re familiar with the geek word for ‘my nose doesn’t work and therefore my sense of taste is jank’. Why am I not surprised?” Natsuki asked rhetorically. “So, yeah. Pretty much every edible substance that makes life worth living is off-limits to me for this loop, and what I can eat has little to no flavor at all, _ and _ I’ll probably be taking in more insulin than water. I’m seriously tempted to call a moratorium on my ‘no dodging handicaps’ policy for this loop.”

“I wouldn’t think any less of you for it, Nat,” Monika assured her, “I’m saddled with a garbage heart, and that nonsense has got to go.” She didn’t notice the way Hanako frowned, Shizune narrowed her eyes, and Misha raised an eyebrow at that statement.

Yuri produced a scalpel from midair and absently flipped it between her fingers. “Ready to operate when you are, Prez,” she said.

_“Yuri put that away we’re in a school!”_ Natsuki hissed, “You _ know _ schools and blades don’t mix!”

“Right, sorry,” said Yuri, the scalpel vanishing back into her Pocket.

“Your heart isn’t garbage,” Hanako blurted, suddenly. She wasn’t outright glaring at Monika, but she was definitely giving her a very impassioned look. “You’re taking Hisao’s place in this loop, so I’m guessing your heart is like his, isn’t it? Congenital defect and chronic arrhythmia, right?” Monika nodded, and Hanako continued, “Then your heart _ is _ like Hisao’s, and…and his heart _ isn’t _ garbage,” she said quickly, as if the words were burning in her mouth.

“Ah…I’m very sorry, Hanako,” Monika apologized, smiling gently. “I didn’t mean to insult your friend. I’m sure Hisao is a wonderful person…but, objectively speaking? This heart of his, and mine for this loop, _ is _ a very defective component. It’s also a survival liability, so as an Anchor I simply can’t responsibly tolerate its weakness.”

“Hisao’s our Anchor, too, and he’s coped with his heart just fine!” Hanako said, shades of real anger creeping into her voice.

“Oh no! What’s got Best Girl all cranky?” asked a peach-haired woman in a blue dress as she approached their table. “What’d you say, Natsuki?”

“Hey! Monika’s being the tactless one this time, not me!” Natsuki protested as Sayori took a seat on Monika’s right side.

“_ Really _? Tsk, tsk, what a shame,” said Sayori. “Now why’d you wanna go and ruffle Best Girl’s jimmies like that, Mon-Mon?”

“I was just being honest. And practical,” said Monika.

“B-Best Girl?” Hanako stammered.

“Mm? Oh, yeah! Your route was my favorite, hands-down, no contest…well, Rin and Lilly’s were pretty good, too,” said Sayori brightly.

“Oh, geez, you’ve played the game, haven’t you,” said Misha, blushing.

“Don’t worry, I played with the H-scenes off,” Sayori was quick to assure her. “Us four hail from a Visual Novel, too, y’know. Only, for us, the VN isn’t just a backup, that’s our actual home. We’re all sapient dating sim characters in our native Loop.”

[No kidding?] asked Shizune.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Sayori promised.

“Ohmygosh, you’re a My Little Pony fan?!” exclaimed Misha.

“More than just a fan. I’m Pinkie Pie’s personal pupil,” said Sayori.

“GET OUTTA TOWN!” cried Misha, starstruck.

“Welp, you heard the lady,” said Sayori as she reached under the table and Unpocketed a large suitcase, which she plopped on the table, and a top hat, which she placed on her head. “TTFN, ta-ta for now,” she declared before jumping up and sprinting towards the cafeteria exit, suitcase in one hand and the other on her hat.

“What?” asked Hanako flatly, a moment after Sayori’s abrupt departure.

“Sayori’s a dork,” Monika said with a smile, “And we wouldn’t want her any other way.”

“She could stand to be a little less of a ditz, though,” Natsuki grumbled as she stared longingly at a pudding cup Misha opened up. “Unawake me asked her to place an order for a classic manga anthology _ two months ago _ and she hasn’t gotten it yet!”

Just then, a thick paperback book fell from high above and landed with a loud smack right in front of Natsuki, making her jump back. She took a look at the cover, sighed, and pulled out her cellphone to send Sayori a thank you text.

…

After classes, the six of them met again on the commons. This time, Hanako was accompanied by a tall blonde girl who felt her way with a retractable cane, and they were joined by a shorter pigtailed girl with prosthetic legs and a redhead with stubby arms who wore trousers instead of the uniform skirt. At Shizune’s signal, Misha stepped up to handle the introductions.

“Lilly, Emi, Rin, this is Monika, who’s replacing Hisao in this loop; Sayori, who’s replacing Yuuko; Yuri and Natsuki, who are just students. They’re all visiting Loopers. Visitors, this is Lilly Satou, Shicchan’s cousin and another class rep, known across Yamaku as the only girl who can match Shicchan wit-for-wit and jab-for-jab! Emi Ibarazaki, our Track Superstar and Yamaku’s Fastest Girl On No Legs! And Rin Tezuka, our endlessly daydreaming artist extraordinaire!”

A round of ‘nice to meet you’s were exchanged, and Natsuki suddenly snapped her fingers. “Ah-ha! Now I know what’s been twigging my memory! You girls all met Josuke and them not too long ago, didn’t you?”

“We sure did! You know the Joestars?” asked Emi.

“Naturally,” said Natsuki, “I’d be a poor excuse for a Looping manga otaku if I hadn’t met them yet.” Natsuki’s cat-grin widened, and she pointed to Emi. “Which means _ you’re _ the one Joseph told me about last time I saw him. Put her there, Superstar,” she said, putting her hand out.

Emi eagerly shook her hand, and her eyes widened as sparks crackled around their hands. Everyone quickly backed up as a strong gust pulsated from the two petite girls. “Oo-hoo-hoo, the Ripple is strong in you, Ibarazaki,” remarked Natsuki, her Cheshire cat smile growing even wider. “Our Jojo told me you’ve really got the heart of a contender. He said you managed to get him with some tricky grass before the end of your first loop with him. Gotta say, it was a few loops before I ever came close to tripping him up. I’m damn impressed.”

“W-wow, thanks!” said Emi, a little flustered.

“I’m going to have to try you out myself while we’re here,” said Natsuki, “I’ll let you pick the time and place, since we’re on your turf.”

“Heh, you’re on! High noon, this Saturday, down at the track field,” said Emi, pointing to indicate the direction.

“It’s a date, Superstar,” Natsuki agreed with a wink.

Yuri giggled and stepped up, draping her arms around Natsuki and giving her a squeeze. “You set my blood to boil when you show off your warrior spirit, my fierce Kitten,” she growled, dipping her head to plant a kiss on Natsuki’s neck.

“Try not to boil over until we get back to one of our dorms, alright?” said Natsuki, grabbing one of Yuri’s hands and lacing their fingers together. Misha gasped and brought her hands to her mouth, her eyes sparkling.

“I don’t see any reason to wait. Class is out for the day and we’ve already met the locals; I’d say that’s good enough for day one,” said Yuri before scooping Natsuki up in her arms.

“H-Hey! C’mon now, Yu, be cool in front of the new people!” Natsuki gasped.

“Your stamina is going to be very subpar in this body, and we both know you’re not going to suspend your Handicap Rule,” Yuri pointed out, “So I need to do my best to get my fill of you _ today _ so you can conserve your strength for the rest of the week. Thus, the sooner we get started, the better. Sorry Monika, you’re going to have to wait until tomorrow,” said Yuri. Then she started toward the girls’ dormitory.

“Remember me fondly, dear sisters!” Natsuki called back over Yuri’s shoulder.

Sayori responded by pulling out a kazoo and playing Taps. Monika stood at attention and saluted, whispering, “Give her hell, soldier.”

“Well then…they’re certainly…um…well, good for them,” said Lilly. Hanako’s face was beet-red, with just the faintest glimmer of envy in her visible eye.

“Relationship goals, says I,” said Emi with a grin.

“Ah! Sorry, Shicchan,” yelped Misha, [So, after Natsuki said “It’s a date, Superstar,” Yuri said–]

[No, no need,] Shizune quickly interjected, [I got the gist of it.]

“Interesting mix of pastel and watercolors,” Rin observed.

“Totally,” Sayori agreed with her.

“You actually understood that?” asked Emi.

“Yeah; Natsuki’s the pastel, and Yuri’s the watercolors,” said Sayori, “Kind of neat Rin picked up on that, actually; those are their preferred paints. Speaking of which, got any paintings you wanna show off, Rin?”

Rin’s head whipped around and she gave Sayori a very appraising look. “…yes, I think I have some paintings you might like,” she replied at length. “They’re all in my Pocket right now, of course.”

“Yay!” Sayori clapped her hands. “Okay, before I dip out for the day: Monika, you should help Shizune and Misha with their student council stuff this loop. I think you’ll find it…interesting. And Misha, would you mind meeting me in the library at some point tomorrow? There’s some stuff I’d like to talk with you about. Okay, Sayori’s out y’all, have a good one!” she announced before Rin took them both into her Pocket.

“So…what do you guys usually do for fun around here?” asked Monika.

* * *

**3.20 Masterweaver**

* * *

**What You Say Matters**

Hanako stormed into Hisao's room with an angry blush. "Gnreremmph!"

"...That... is a vocalization."

"I--I just. I...." Hanako took a breath. "I'm sorry, but... Can I vent a little?"

Hisao sat down on his bed. "Sure."

"Rin.... wanted to paint me." She threw up her hands. "Like, I thought she meant 'I want to paint a portrait of you' but, no, it was me, like paint on my skin--maybe my scars? I don't know! I was ready to pose and then she whipped out that alien tongue of hers and started unbuttoning my..." Hanako blushed, shaking her head. "So of course I freaked out, and she freaked out because she thought she was clear and there was, we just--mutual meltdown. And--and now I feel guilty but I'm also still angry and I don't know what I'm supposed to say or how I'm supposed to react and--"

Hisao pinched his brow. "Oh boy."

"Hisao, I--look... I'm sorry if I'm just unloading this all on you, but you're the only other one Awake right now and--"

"Alright! Alright." Hisao stood up. "How about... you go to your room, do some of your breathing exercises, and I go to Rin and... after I get her balanced again, we drop by your room and talk through this when we're all more calm."

"...Yeah. Yeah. Okay, yeah." Hanako nodded, backing out. "Yeah. I just... yeah."

"Yeah."

"Yeah." Hanako pulled the door mostly shut, before pausing. "...love you."

"Love you too."

"...good." The door clicked shut.

Hisao sprawled out on his bed. "This is my life now..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Compiler Commentary
> 
> -3.1: Misha did come to Yamaku to learn how to help people.  
-3.2: She has a healthy adolescent sex drive, after all.  
-3.3: When your life story is a book that anybody in a particular universe can find, things get awkward. Doubly so if it's a visual novel.  
-3.4: Unfortunately, Lilly does not play the bagpipes... yet.  
-3.5: Your fate is written in the stars. Generally by you yourself.  
-3.6: Just because it's golden doesn't mean it's valuable.  
-3.7: Somebody's got to be the designated driver.  
-3.8: Although that horrifying realization might get to her...  
-3.9: Haven't we all wanted to be in multiple places at once?  
-3.10: There are some weeeeeird worlds out there.  
-3.11: Some tragedies are inevitable. And some hide deeper secrets.  
-3.12: Emi explains her stance to Lilly...  
-3.13: ...and to Hisao...  
-3.14: ...and to everyone...  
-3.15: ...and people notice.  
-3.16: Background characters are people too.  
-3.17: The multiverse is filled with strange beings.  
-3.18: PSA: Do not take strange bits of metal from random places without knowing exactly what they are.  
-3.19: The Dokis are a fun bunch with absolutely no worrying history whatsoever.  
-3.20: Proper communication is vital for any relationship.
> 
> =-=-=-=-=
> 
> The Infinite Loops is a multi-setting, multi-author shared multiverse, with contributions from the Spacebattles forums. If you would like to write for the Katawa Shoujo loops, join us at the Indie Games Infinite Loops thread. If you would like to write for other fandoms, check out the Miscellaneous Infinite Loops thread and the Hub Index to see where they might be.


End file.
